Bloodlines Adrian's POV
by ell1986
Summary: Adrian Ivashkov no longer has control of his life, he has been sent off to the desert with a bunch of teenagers to protect the Moroi Society. Bloodlines by Adrian's POV. Adrian desires nothing more than a good time but duty and honour force him to put his life on hold to protect Jill,only thing keeping him sane is the thought of those beautiful eye's that have haunted him, Sydney's
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

As I woke, I was hit with a blinding headache from not only the 5 drinks I consumed at the beginning of the flight but also from the glaring sunshine streaming through the aeroplane window. Not even the indulgence of a first class seat can help me escape the morning sun. Whilst rubbing my temple and contemplating a hair of the dog drink, I glance over to my right to see Jill, the reason for my sudden life uprooting, gently snoring. This delicate, innocent fifteen year old girl carries the weight of our ancient society on her shoulders and she hasn't even finished high school yet. Jill, or Princess Jillian Dragomir as she is known in Moroi society, is slowly waking from her light slumber. With her dishevelled hair and sleepy eyes, she turns to me and smiles. I know Jill feels eternally indebted to me and she will do whatever she can to make my life easier but I am wrecked with guilt knowing that she is feeling my hangover just as severely as I am. Our Moroi society is built around ancient Vampires and our elemental magic. Our magic is based on the four elements, Water, Fire, Earth and Wind but only recently it was discovered that a fifth type of magic existed and it just so happens that I was one of the lucky few who possess this magic. Spirit is a very powerful and dangerous magic that was still relatively new to our people and very few were actually aware of the powers we wielded. Of the few spirit users I associated with, we all had control over different skills within our magic. One of the few skills that we all had in common was our ability to heal. The ability to heal is a godsend for those injured around us but the power it takes to heal causes extreme backlash from the spirit. Most spirit users medicated themselves to deal with the spirit backlash, the darkness and turmoil that spirit causes in your mind always catches up with you. In extreme cases Spirit can be used to heal those on the brink of death or even those who have crossed over the line into death. The reason Jill feels indebted to me is the latter of the skills. At a recent royal engagement, the dissidents of our royal court attacked and Jill was target number one. Unfortunately the attack succeeded and Jill passed over into death. Without even thinking, I wielded more spirit than I knew I could touch and returned Jill to the land of the living. But this did not happen without repercussion. Jill and I were now destined to spend our lives bonded to one another. Jill saw into my mind, into my soul and into all my demons and in return she felt my highs, my lows and unfortunately for her at this moment, my hangovers. It is because of the bond that I was sent along on this adventure. In front of me sat Eddie Castile and Abe Mazur. Eddie was a Dhampir guardian and a loyal, brave and not to mention one of the most fierce dhampirs I had yet to come across. He was also one of the best friends of the girl who broke my heart, so seeing his face caused me constant and continual pain. Not to mention he is kind of a kiss arse. Eddie was commissioned by Queen Vasilisa Dragomir to protect Jill and keep her safe until her position at Royal Court was safe. Sat beside Eddie was Abe, another face to put towards the memory of my broke heart. Abe Mazur was an extremely powerful and feared Moroi, he orchestrated the escape and planned the hiding of Jill. Oh and not to mention, he was the father of Rose Hathaway, the aforementioned heartbreaker. I could barely blame Rose for breaking my heart, she was romantically entangled with the love of her life when we met and it was foolish of me to believe that I could ever earn a place in her heart. The only wrongdoing I could place upon Rose, was dragging me into the confusing and messy situation that is her love life. She is happy with her ridiculous Russian lover and I am here, landing in LAX hiding with a bunch of teenagers and a crooked old Moroi.

"She never meant to hurt you Adrian and you know that" I looked up to see Jill smiling at me from the side of her mouth. She could feel the ache in my heart and she knew that I was wallowing. Instead of dignifying her statement with a response, I pressed the call button and ordered another gin and tonic. Nursing my drink, I turned to look out into the sunlight, allowing the sun to illuminate my face, I closed my eyes and basked in the light. Behind the protective windows I could feel the beauty and warmth of the sun but wasn't weakened by its power. This sunshine is my future. Until Jill's position at court is safe, we will be living in Palm Springs and spend our days avoiding its constant heat and sun rays. I was glad Jill was alive but at this moment, this bond was just another nail in the coffin of my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Abe took the lead and rented a car so we could continue this never ending journey to our "safe house". I used my charm to convince Eddie to stop several times so I could ease my mind with some fresh air. And by fresh air I meant cigarettes, the unhealthiest of all my vices. To be honest I think my mind was just focused on delaying the inevitable. At the end of this journey, I was to remain at the house of an aging Moroi, away from my friends and family. Away from the life I have always known. I know that I am here to accompany Jill and ease her troubled mind. But I still am not sure what I will do with my time, especially in the desert heat. As we pull up in the winding driveway, I can only feel dread and disdain for this new life that has been forced upon me. I exit the car and stare up at the aging home, silently spiralling in my mind. Before I know it, Jill walks up to take me by the arm and reassuringly smiles at me. "This is going to be great. Please stop worrying. A little distance will do you some good. Plus think of all the royal engagements we get to miss out on by being here". Jill always puts a positive spin on life, I am not sure if that's just who she is or whether she is just trying to level my moods but this time it hasn't worked. I sling my arm around her shoulder and pull her close to my side "Not to mention all the east coast Moroi women to meet huh". Jill rolls her eyes and strolls casually up to the house to join Eddie and Abe. Eddie knocks cautiously, his dhampir training evident. The door swings open and we are greeted by my worst nightmare. Wearing low slung jeans and a red tank top that clung to every curve of her body, Rose eyed us over and plastered a huge smile upon her face. "Rose" Jill flings herself into Rose's arms and hugs her warmly. Whilst trying to swallow my disgust at Jill's sudden treason, I remind myself that Jill was friends with Rose long before I saved her. The two broke apart and exchanged pleasantries. Jill demands to know why Rose hadn't travelled with us. " I needed to ensure the location was safe for you guys, plus I wanted to bask in the sunshine before being called back to the doom and gloom of court". Rose knew how to charm and charm us she did with a grin so beautiful it would make a lesser man, go weak in the knees. I was once a lesser man, a man whose heartbreak now lets me see that grin for what it is. A grin that belongs to another. Eddie and Abe continued the endless chit chat with Rose as I started to mentally fade away from the conversation, letting my mind think back to a time before I knew Rose. A simple and fun time. A time when I enjoyed all the splendour that being a Moroi Lord has to offer. As my mind turned to a silly blonde Moroi girl I spent some time with, my name was said with such trepidation, is sparked me back to attention. Rose had enquired how the flight was and was anxiously waiting to see how I would reply. Do I respond and be civil or turn away like a petulant child. I decided to ride the middle lane. "Extremely uneventful flight, you were not with us on our journey so it remained drama free". From the look on Rose's face she had been expecting my witty remark and actually seemed shocked that my response did not insult her further. "Well then it is a good thing I flew separately, Jill does not need any further drama in her life. Let's go inside so you can meet Clarence". Rose threw her arm around Jill leading her inside and Eddie followed close behind. I stood at the bottom of the porch, shuffling my feet when I looked up to see Abe. By the look on his face, I knew I was in for a lecture. To save his breath, I raced past him into the house. "Grab the bags from the car won't you Abe".

Once inside the house, I took a moment to appreciate the situation I had walked into. Of all the Hollywood movies I had seen regarding Vampires, this house represented them all accurately. Dark, gothic and mysterious, the house had an old charm that enthralled me but was the worst fear of every human that entered. Well almost every human that entered. Dorothy, Clarence's feeder and housekeeper introduced herself and took us on a short tour of the house. My room was adequate and clean. I had spied the liquor cabinet in the front sitting room, full and varied. I wondered how long I would need to keep up the pleasantries. Dorothy led us into said sitting room, where I found a weary older Moroi seated, and a younger male Moroi doting on him. The younger Moroi stood and introduced himself with kind manners "I am lee, welcome to our house, this is my father Clarence. Please feel free to make yourselves at home". Clarence stood and looked us over and a look of glee happened upon his face. "Wonderful, our guests have arrived. I am so happy to have you all in my home. It has been so long since my home has been so full". The elder Moroi continued his chattering as my eyes glanced over onto the liquor cabinet. As I started walking towards the liquor, I caught the eye of Abe who shook his head in disbelief. Ignoring his judgement, I grabbed a glass and poured myself a whisky and sunk into an overstuffed armchair.

As I looked up from my glass, I noticed that Clarence's mood had dramatically turned. He seemed irritated and scared. "Clarence, please believe me, we have checked the perimeter of the house and neighbourhood thoroughly, you must not worry". Rose did her best to calm the old man but nothing seemed to appease him. "Will it help if I send Rose to double check the perimeter?" Abe offered to the aging Moroi. Rose shot her father a stern look as Abe chuckled to himself. "That sounds like a great idea, Rose please let me join you? I lived here for years with my father and can show you the secrets this house has to offer". Lee asked as he jumped to his feet and sent Rose a lopsided grin. From the look upon Rose's face, she knew that she had been cornered into the task. Sending a man-killing smile back at Lee she agreed and they both turned to check the house. General chit chat amongst everyone started back up as I finished my drink. All the fake pleasantries were driving me crazy, so I grabbed my cigarettes and decided to free my tormented mind from this ridiculous situation. As I rose to my feet, Abe stepped in to block my exit. "Adrian, the alchemists will be here shortly. Can you not play nice for a little longer, use some of those manners your parents paid numerous schools greatly for?" Abe's words may have been playful but his words cut deep. The old man spoke as if he knew me and as if he was aware of all my disappointments to my parents. "Well if my manners have been terrible up to this point, I would hate to surprise people now". I stepped around Abe and headed to the front door, to my escape. I could feel Abe's eyes burning in the back of my skull, I stopped to catch Jill's eyes, sending her a look that I hope conveyed my apologies and then continued to the front door.

I opened the door slowly and looked up to see two faces staring back at me. One was the face of a scared man with only one eye. The other face contained the two most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my life. Two eyes that I had spied before. Two eyes that had been burned into my memory since the moment I saw them, at Royal Court. I realised that I was staring, staring too long to be silent. I needed to keep it light and be cool. "So are you guys trying to convert me or sell me something?". The male alchemist continued to stare at me, unsure of how to act around me, an evil creature of the night. The alchemists believe all Moroi and Dhampirs are evil, ungodly creatures and they fear their lives around us. That is part of the reason they solemnly vow to keep the secret of our existence from the human race. "Mr Ivashkov, It's nice to see you again" The blonde with the beautiful eyes remembered my name, this pleased me but for the life of me I cannot figure out why. I decided that I needed to play coy, show disinterest. I frowned and stared over her. "I know you, how do I know you?". "We, ah… We ran into each other last month. At court". She had a shy confidence about her, but she was not scared of me. I decided to put the girl out of her misery. "Right. The Alchemist." I paused and gave her a slight smile "Sydney Sage". A look of shock took over her face, she seemed flustered that she had made enough of an impression for me to remember her. Those eye's haunted my dreams, an impression was an understatement. She recovered well, "Keith, this is Adrian Ivashkov, Adrian this is my colleague Keith Darnell". I held out my hand to the scared one eyed man, knowing full well that he would refuse to shake it. I dropped my hand without showing shock or offence and stepped past them. I nodded towards the door "They are waiting for you. Go on in" and then I decided to entertain myself and leant close to Keith's ear and whispered "If you dare" I poked Keith in the shoulder and walked off laughing. If I was destined to live in this hell, I needed to find joy in the little things. I started down the garden path when I looked back over my shoulder to see Miss Sage glaring after me. I could see the anger in her eyes, and when she caught my eye, she turned quickly into the house. I decided very quickly that I did not like being the reason there was anger in those beautiful eyes. Shaking my head, I lit my cigarette and hoped I would see those eyes again soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I took my time on my cigarette and decided to take my time on my second and third. You could not pay me to return to that room and play nice. Seeing Rose had brought out a side of me that I was not proud of and all the other people in that room should not be forced to be innocent bystanders to my moods. I walked to the left side of the house when I heard the door open. "Where are you?" Abe called out for me and I knew that it was a matter of time before this conversation had to happen. I could not delay this any longer, I needed to hear the old man out. "Over here" I said in a dejected voice as I started back upon the gravel drive to where Abe stood. "Were you planning on coming back" Abe asked me with an amused look on his face. Maybe this conversation would go better than I had planned. "I didn't see the point" I knew I was being childish but I figured Abe would get his point across no matter what my disposition. "The point is politeness, you didn't even make an effort with the Alchemist's". He had a point, but there is not a chance I would admit it to him. "They didn't want to meet me, Especially the guy" I almost laughed with the memory of Keith's scared face. "You should have seen his face when I ran into him at the door. I wish I'd had a cape on. The girl's at least got some nerve". I ensured my opinion of Sydney Sage stayed hidden, Abe would undoubtedly use this against me if knew of it. "Nevertheless, the play a crucial role in your stay here and Jill's. You know how important it is that she stays safe". Abe hit home with that point, he knew how important Jill was to me and he knew I would do what I could to keep her safe. "Yeah I get that. And I get why she is here. What I don't get is why I am here?". The question had be burning in my mind since the moment Lissa told me I would be joining this mission. And no one could answer better than Abe. I wouldn't be here if he didn't wish me to be. "Don't you?" Abe asked me. "I assume it's obvious to both Jill and you. You have to stay near her". He was talking about the bond, everyone assumed the bond meant we needed to be together 24/7 like Rose and Lissa were. "That's what everyone says, but I am still not sure it is necessary. I do not think she needs me close by, no matter what Rose and Lissa think". I do not know If I truly believed this or if I just wanted to believe the opposite of what Rose thought. "You have something better to do?". Abe asked me pointedly. He knew full well that I didn't, that I was flailing before being sent on this mission. I had left college to be at St. Vladamirs alongside Rose and Lissa. I then followed them blindly to court. Then at court I was left broken hearted, with no plans for my life and my future. Having my father continually remind of this did not help the issue. "That is not the point" Now I was angry and I was struggling to keep my cool. "That is exactly the point. Your wasting away at court, drowning in your own self-pity, among other things. Here, you have a chance to make yourself useful". Abe was really trying to convey a fatherly concern but to me it sounded condescending and forced. "To you" I challenged. I was angry and needed him to know I completely saw through his caring charade. "To yourself as well. This is an opportunity for you to make something of your life". He keeps on with these platitudes but refuses to elaborate. "Except you won't tell me what it is I am supposed to do, aside from Jill, what is this great task you have for me?". I was waiting for Abe's answer with baited breath. I was angry and spirits darkness was beginning to seep into my mind. I needed this conversation to end before I lost control of the darkness. "Listen. Listen and watch. Watch everyone- Clarence, Lee, the Alchemists, Jill and Eddie. Pay attention to every word, every detail and report it to me later. It may all be useful". I took a moment to think over what Abe had said and now stood even more confused than I was at the beginning of our conversation. "I don't know if that really clears things up" If Abe was intentionally being cryptic, he was doing a great job. "You have potential Adrian, too much potential to waste. I'm very sorry for what happened with Rose but you have to move on. Maybe things do not make sense now but they will later. Trust me". Abe again was playing cryptic but I no longer had the patience or energy to continue playing his games. I looked away momentarily to gather my thoughts and followed Abe inside. I followed him into the sitting room and walked over to replenish my glass. Pouring myself a double, I sunk back into the armchair and hoped the conversation would play out without me. As I finished the last of my drink, Sydney walked back through the door and joined effortlessly into the conversation. I stood and placed my glass atop of the liquor cabinet. I knew I couldn't leave the room but I did not want to join the conversation. I walked to the far wall, the furtherest from Rose I could possibly be and stood against it, arms crossed, displaying a look that I hoped conveyed my nonchalance. The conversation turned to the feeding schedule and it was planned that Sydney would drive Jill and Eddie to the house for the feedings. Without warning, Sydney turned to me with those beautiful eyes and asked how I would be getting to the feedings. It took me a moment to recover to the shock of seeing those eyes peer into my soul. "By walking down the hall". So the very wise Sydney Sage wasn't aware that I was a prisoner of this pensioner hell. "Adrian will be staying here with me, it will be nice to have someone else in these old walls". Clarence explained the situation to Sydney and she shared a kind smile with him. "oh, how every secret garden" she quipped. It was odd to see Sydney with a wistful, smile on her face, a face that had maintained a polite professional smile. I needed her to explain this reference further "Hmm?" She looked shocked that I questioned her on this. "Nothing" she said quickly, "I was just thinking of a book I read". So our miss Sage was a book nerd. I should have guessed by the way she was dressed. Feeling out of my element and not wanting to embaress myself any further, I dismissed what Sydney had said and turned away. Lee reminded his father about him visiting him more regularly now and before I knew it the conversation had turned into a subtle dig at me. Before I had an opportunity to interject and defend myself, Keith stood and announced he had business to attend to and that Sydney must chauffer him around. Jill and Eddie raced to their feet to gather their belongings and Rose took a moment to grab Sydney away from us. Luckily Rose underestimated my interest in their conversation and I was standing close enough to eavesdrop without much effort. Rose was enquiring about Sydney and if she had gotten into much trouble with her people over her aiding Rose's escape. I remembered Sydney's part in Rose's escape and a new wave of anger washed over me. Using all her charm and beauty, we had lined up to help Rose escape and clear her name. She got what she wanted and the rest of us were left cleaning up the mess. The darkness was entering my mind again when I realised I had missed most of their conversation. Mentally kicking myself for allowing myself to be dragged back into anything that involved Rose, I left the room and headed after Eddie and Jill.

I walked outside to say my goodbyes and was unprepared for Jill's emotional reaction. It softened my bad mood and pushed the darkness away. I embraced her, "there, there Jailbait, I'll see you again soon". "I wish you were coming with us" she said in such a small voice that almost only I could hear her. I looked up to see the confusion on Sydney's face. She was unaware why Jill and I were so close but we needed to keep it secret from her. At that moment, I could see theories running through her mind and she without a doubt was thinking that Jill and I were romantically entangled. The idea was insane, I was a ladies man but even I had my limits. I turned my attention back to Jill. "No you don't. Maybe the rest of you can get away with playing back to school but I'd be thrown out on my first day. At least here, I won't corrupt anyone, except Clarence and his liquor cabinet". Jill looked up at me and promised to be in touch. A smile covered my face and I gave her a knowing look "So will I". It was our inside joke, Jill could sense everything single though and feeling I had, but I had to do it the old fashion way and pick up the phone. I gave her one final goodbye hug and closed the car door behind her. As they drove away I turned to walk into the house, when I saw Rose standing at the front door. Rather than pass her, I took out a cigarette and turned to walk to the back of the property. Lighting my smoke, I walked quickly, especially once I heard light footsteps in the gravel, following behind be closely. I knew it was Rose, without evening looking, I quickened my pace but it was no use. Rose was a guardian, one of the best. She could out run a race horse if given the opportunity. "Adrian, you can't pretend I do not exist forever". She speaks, now everyone of importance is gone she can finally express her real feelings towards me. I stop to catch my breath and take a long drag for my cigarette. "Why can we not be friends, I know that I hurt you but we have all been through too much together to just go on ignoring each other". Her words cut through me like knives. I turn on my heel, anger in my eyes and venom on my tongue. "Friends? Is that what you truly want? You cannot have everything Rose. I know everything in your world is rainbow and sunshine but you got your happy ending whilst people like me and Jill are left in the dark, picking up all the pieces of our shattered lives. You even used Sydney to get everything you ever wanted. So, no, we cannot be friends. We cannot play nice and act like I was never in love with you. You don't get that too, you have enough". The words came pouring out of me with a speed that I couldn't stop. She had taken everything I had and now I lived in darkness. She needed to know of the hurt she caused. "The kindest thing you can do for me Rose, is leave. Just go on with Abe, back to your happy life at court with Dimitri. And do not give me a second thought because I refuse to give you another though ever". I deliver my final word and turn with such speed that I shock Rose. In her defence she is wise enough to not say a word as she turns to walk away. My cigarette has long burned out and my shaking hand begs for another. I take another from the packet and continue my walk across Clarence's garden. I need to sooth my mind, and ease the darkness away. I sit under a tree and think of the most beautiful thing I can imagine. Those beautiful eyes, I longed to see them again. I had questioned my mind repeatedly about why I allowed myself to think of them, even draw them on the odd occasion. I reasoned it with the artist's mind. I was an artist who drew beauty, that's why I saw those eyes. Every time I closed my own eyes, I saw the ones that belonged to Sydney Sage.

 **AN- I hope everyone is enjoying the story. I have never written fan fiction before, but I decided to write the story I wanted to read. Adrian is quite dark at the moment but hopefully once he spends more time with Sydney I can start to write a lighter, more playful Adrian, the one we first met in frostbite. Please review and feel free to give constructive criticism, it's very much desired**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I waited outside as long as the weather would permit me, hoping enough time would eventually pass that both Abe and Rose would be on their way. Not long after my encounter with Rose, Jill had text me to try and ease the darkness. Her kind words brought a smile to my face but even they couldn't rid my mind of the memory of my final encounter with Rose. My words were harsh and dripping with venom but needed to be said. I had said what I had needed to and now I hoped I had the peace of mind to finally move on. I decided to explore the house that would be my prison for the upcoming weeks, months, years… however long it took to keep Jill safe. The house proved to be just as boring as I had anticipated, so I decided that I would have to return to my old friend the liquor cabinet. As I entered the sitting room and poured myself another drink, Lee looked into the room. "Adrian, I was wondering where you had disappeared to". I sat with my drink and looked up the him "I was just taking in the grounds, they are quite beautiful. Although I am not sure why in this weather your father would wish to be outside?". Lee laughed and sat opposite me. "He wanted to be able to see beauty in his life every day. Ever since my cousin was killed, he wanted to see the good in the world, he was tired of the darkness seeping in". The darkness seeping in, this was something I was very familiar with. I took a sip of my drink and sunk deeper into the armchair, hoping this would signify to Lee that I was no longer interested in chatting. Turns out Lee was not that adept at picking up on social hints. He quizzed me about Jill, Abe, Eddie and Rose. He was extremely interested in where we came from. I had read our cover story and memorized it to a tee. I told the story, word for word, proud that I had stuck to it. He seemed to have believed me and it looked like I was finally about to get some peace when he suddenly asked about Sydney. "And what of the Alchemists? Do you know them well? Is Sydney close to Jill? I thought they hated us?" I mulled his questions over and took my time answering, knowing our cover story was on the line. "I'm pretty sure Sydney Sage hates us just as much as her one eyed pal does, but the only other thing they feel stronger than their hated to us, is their desire to protect humans from us. I think that's why Sage is staying with them, to make sure Jill doesn't eat anyone at their new school". I took a long sip from my drink and glanced up to see Lee's reaction and to my surprise it looked like he agreed. "They did seem uncomfortable around us didn't they, such a shame. She is a good looking girl, for a human". Lee's words were harmless enough but for some reason they awoke a quiet anger in me. "Is she?" I mused, "I don't notice female humans, not really on my radar". Once again I took a gulp of my drink, hoping to mask my lies. I had noticed Sydney Sage, the second I laid eyes on her at court. I was dating Rose but I was still a 21 year old guy. She had an innocent beauty to her, and her body was inviting, not to mention those eyes. But I was no fool, she is human and an alchemist no less, so no matter what I thought of Miss Sage, she thought of us as evil creatures of the night. Lee excused himself and left the room. With my new found privacy, I thought over the day and decided that I had handled myself quite well. I had lost my cool with Rose but I hadn't allowed the darkness to consume me, I could have been much worse. I could have said things much more harsh, things I knew would have hurt her. To reward myself for my restraint, I help myself to another drink. And another. Before I know it, the whisky bottle is empty. I could stop now. Instead I grab the bourbon and walk down the halls to my room, it is time to attempt to sleep and I am nowhere near drunk enough for that to happen.

I wake up the following morning, and my head is spinning before my eyes open. I drank to excess last night, more than what was needed. I drank so much the spirit was kept from me the bond went numb. But waking this morning, and feeling this hangover, I knew Jill had to be feeling this too. It would be her first day at school and she had to do it with this hangover. I was instantly wrecked with guilt and grabbed my phone to call. It went straight to voicemail, so I sent her a text. She had to know how sorry I was. Jill replied almost instantly, reassuring me she was fine, and encouraging me not to worry. I knew she was appeasing me, but the guilt is consumed me. After leaving my room, I headed to the bathroom, hoping a long hot shower would wash away the ill feeling that was devouring my body and mind. Once I was washed and dressed, I went to find Dorothy to feed. She was more than willing and offered her neck to me with kindness. I was gentle and only took what I needed, not what I wanted. She then offered to make me lunch, seeming I had slept through breakfast. Once she had doted on me sufficiently, she left me to my own devices, determined not to drink again, I wandered to the sitting room to see if Clarence or Lee would entertain me. Desperate times call for extremely desperate measures. And these were extremely desperate measures. I managed to last until the early evening without drinking, spending my time playing pool with Lee and reminiscing about the good old days of music with Clarence. But then the evening came, Lee went out and Clarence went to bed and I only had my mind for company and comfort. I am weak. I grabbed the cognac from the cabinet and left to the porch to drink in the evening air.

I do not remember stumbling to bed, but yet I woke up here the next morning. Or afternoon since it was after 1pm when I woke. Knowing that I had drank to excess again, my mind turned to Jill. I grabbed my phone to call when I noticed a text from Jill. She had been sent home from class because of her hangover. I hung my head in shame, knowing that my weakness was causing her trouble. To ashamed to reply, I repeated my daily routine of showering my sins away and replenishing my weak body with the gourmet food Dorothy prepared. I sat watching T.V. passing the afternoon, counting down the hours until my bad decisions would soon rear their ugly heads. Without realising how many hours had passed, I heard a faint knock at the door and Dorothy walk to open it. A slight fear arose in me, what if we had been found? What if the dissidents had tracked us down and were here for Jill. Reason then calmed my nerves, logic entered my mind. Abe and the Alchemists had researched this location, we were safe. Plus anyone wanting to kidnap a Princess would probably not knock at the front door. The door to the sitting room opened and Dorothy walked in flanked by Jill and Sydney. I sat up quickly, surprised by their visit. I turned the T.V. off and set my attention upon the two girls. Dorothy made excuses and left the room. Jill had changed out of her uniform but Miss Sage was dressed in her school uniform and I am not proud to say but a few dirty thoughts ran through my mind. As quickly as they entered, I pushed them out and felt an overwhelming need to defuse the situation in my mind with comedy. "Well this is a nice surprise", I then glanced over at Sydney "Sage, aren't you guys supposed to have uniforms? This looks like what you would normally wear". Feeling like I had appropriately eased any discomfort that had formed in my mind I plastered a grin upon my face. "Cute" Sydney quipped and I could see her desperately trying to supress an eye roll. Those beautiful eyes. I stood and walked to the liquor cabinet, mostly out of habit. "Careful, you almost smiled" I slung back at Sydney as I reached for the brandy bottle. "You guys want one?" Knowing my request would be denied by both of them, I was well aware it was completely inappropriate. Sydney stared at me incredulously "It's the middle of the afternoon". Knowing that nothing I said would convince Sydney that I was anything other than a delinquent, I simply retorted "I've got a wicked hangover. This is just the thing to cure it". I gave a mock toast and knocked back the nip of brandy. Sensing the situation was growing increasingly awkward, Jill stepped for and requested that she needed to speak to me. "What's up Jailbait?" Jill looked at Sydney awkwardly and cleared her throat "would you mind….". Sydney was a smart girl and knew when she was not wanted. "Sure. I'll just.. I'll just go outside". And with that she turned on her heel and made her way out of the room. Once I heard the front door close, I turned to Jill and saw the look pity on her face. I needed to take control of this situation before I was made to feel 2 feet tall by a fifteen year old girl. "Jill look, I am sorry. So sorry. It has been a really weird few days. With Rose and being here and not having any control over my life. I just needed clear my mind and make the darkness go away". I knew I was rambling but I couldn't stop. If I stopped, then Jill would start talking and the guilt I felt would grow exponentially. "Adrian, stop. Stop apologising. I know, I know why and I understand. I do, I feel everything you feel and it makes me want to drink. But I have to go to school so I need you to just tone it down on a school night. Plus I share a room with Sydney, I think she Is already suspicious of us, and the situation today just made her question me more. She is too smart not to catch on to us". Jill was right, it was only so long before Sydney realised that we were keeping her in the dark. Our secret needed to stay that way and my behaviour was doing nothing to help. "Your right, I know your right. And I will try harder I promise. No more drinking on school nights, not a drop". Jill smiled at me kindly. "You don't have to stop completely but maybe just stop after one or two". Here I was being lectured by a teenage girl but the worst part was that she was 100% right. I knew what I needed to do, I needed to get out of this house. And Sydney Sage was my exit strategy. I excused myself from Jill and went to the door to find Sydney. Hearing voices from the kitchen, I walked to the door and stuck my head through the door with a lopsided grin plastered on my face. It was time to turn on the Ivashkov charm. "Ah there you are. Can I talk to you privately for a minute?". Lee who was keeping Sydney company took the hint, and jumped from the counter, excusing himself to go find Jill, which I found odd. "What was that about?" Sydney responded quickly "Oh we thought Lee could help Jill with her problems, since he can relate". I racked my brain for what problems Jill would be facing, the obvious excluded. "Problems?" "Yeah, you know. Adjusting living with humans" Suddenly it dawned on me, Jill knew all my problems but I was too selfish to ask about her day, how she was fitting in at her new school. Shame took a hold of me and I hid it the only way I knew how, ignorance. "Oh" I took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one up "That. Yeah, I guess that's good but that's not what I wanted to speak to you about" I needed to ask Sage this favour before I lost my nerve. "I need you to get me out of this place". Sydney instantly looked alarmed and confused. "Out of Palm Springs?" I realised why she was so shocked, she thought I was running away from the mission, abandoning Jill. How low she must think of me. "No, out of this place" I gestured around me. "It's like living in a retirement home. Clarence is taking a nap right now and he eats at 5. It is so boring" I realised I sounded like a whining child but I needed Sage to see my desperation. For my sanity and Jill's I needed to get out of the house. "You have only been here two days" Sydney's voice was exasperated and I hated the look in her eyes. "And that is more than enough. The only thing keeping me alive is that he keeps a hefty supply of liquor on hand but at the rate I'm going, it will be gone by the weekend. Jesus Christ, I'm climbing the walls". I look over to her and instantly see the cross around her neck, how had I not noticed it before "oh sorry. No offence to Jesus". Sydney shook her head with confusion, "what about Lee, he is here right?". Jesus Sage, she was clutching at straws here. "Yes, sometimes. But he is busy with, hell I don't know. School stuff. He is going back to Los Angeles tomorrow and that'll be another boring night for me. Besides, Lee is nice enough but he's not, well he not really into having fun". I paused "Not the way I am". Sydney looked at me earnestly "maybe that's a good thing". I am guessing she had heard and believed the rumours about me then. "no morality lectures Sage. And hey like I said, I like him okay but he is not here enough. And when he is he keeps to himself. He's always checking himself out in the mirror, even more than I do. I heard him worrying about grey hairs the other day" I was getting desperate now but I could see that Sage was not about to give in. "Where would you even want to go? You don't want to … You don't want to enrol at Amberwood do you?" Sydney looked me squarely in the eye and it took all my strength to not laugh at her question. "What and play 21 jump street with the rest of you? No thanks" Sydney looked at me confused "21 what?" So our Miss Sage was not a Johnny Depp fan. "Never mind, look. I need my own place okay. You guys make things happen. Can't you get me some swank bachelor pad like Keith has downtown so I can party with all the rich vacationers. Drinking alone is sad and pathetic. I need people. Even human people." I was honest with her now, deadly honest. There was no way she could resist honesty, charm and my green eyes. "No" "I'm not authorised to do that. You aren't, well you aren't really my responsibility". With that, her words cut through me like a knife and I realised how Sydney honestly felt about her job. She tolerated us, not because she wanted to, but because it was her job to. "We're just taking care of Jill, and Eddie, since he is her bodyguard". She tried to offer me a small smile and I decided to push my luck. "What about a car? Can you do that?" And she shook her head, her golden blonde hair shaping her face. "What about your car? What if I drop you guys back off at the school and then borrow it for a while?" I could see by the look on Sydney's face that she would rather kiss Clarence then lend me her car. "No" she replied swiftly and I threw my arms up in despair. "Your killing me here Sage". "I'm not doing anything" she retorted and I bit back "Exactly my point". I could sense now that she was starting to get frustrated with the conversation "Look. I told you. You are not my responsibility. Talk to Abe if you want things changed. Isn't he the reason you're here?" This piques my interest, how does she know Abe wanted me here. Did she overhear my conversation with him? "What do you know about that?" I asked, possibly in an inappropriate tone. Sydney recovers well and answers "I mean, he is the one who brought you guys here and made the arrangements with Clarence right? " She answered well but I was still suspicious. "Yes. But Abe wants me to stay in this tomb. If I got my own place, we would have to keep it a secret from him". A look of instant fear took over Sydney's face which shook me to my core. What did he have one her? She scoffed "Then I am definitely not helping, even if I could. You couldn't pay me to cross Abe" I was right, he had something on Sage, something that scared her. Before I could question her further she left the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I had no idea how to read Sydney. Her aura was a clear yellow, that of an academic, but she was constantly surprising me. I followed her into the sitting room, to find her gathering Jill to leave. I felt bad that I had caused her to be angry, and I felt worse that I had forced her to think of Abe. I tried my hardest not to sulk but I knew my face gave my mood away. I hugged Jill and walked her to the door. I could sense the trepidation she felt about leaving me in my moods but I reassured her I was fine. I encouraged her about school and promised her tomorrow would be different. We stood, sharing our moment and I caught Sydney's face. It was the first time she wore a genuine smile, and so help me god, it was directed at me.

 **AN- hope you guys liked the chapter. I am trying to slowly peel back the layers that are Adrian Ivashkov.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

After watching Sydney and Jill drive away, I turned towards the house and sighed in despair. This house would continue to be my prison. Conflicted between anger and confusion towards Sydney, I slunk through the front door and returned to my place in the sitting room. I contemplated turning the T.V. back on but decided against it, too many hours were wasted on it already today. I was certain that Sydney was not going to able to refuse not only my charm but my genuine concern for my mental wellbeing. I am well aware my mental state of mind was not 100% up to par when arriving in Palm Springs but this house was pushing me over the edge. I needed to stay sober for Jill's sake but I am not sure how much more of this I could take. As I was trying to justify a drink to myself, my phone softly vibrated in my back pocket. **"Sydney thought we were dating and my hangover was actually morning sickness. Please do not make me lie to her anymore, I know she sees through me"**. I stared at the message, unsure of how to react. On one hand I was mortified, did Sydney honestly think I would take advantage of Jill and leave her in such a situation. Just as I went to respond to the message, another emotion took over me, anger. Why must I feel mortified by what Sydney assumed was going on between Jill and myself. She was just some silly alchemist who feigned a professional politeness around us and did not actually care for us. She only wanted to know what our situation was so she could probably report back to her superiors. She had proved that we were just a job by refusing to help me escape this hell and she hadn't even bothered to act remorseful about not being able to help. What she and her judgemental mind thought of Jill and I should be of very little consequence to me. Her and her judgemental, beautiful eyes.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully and I managed to forgo my evening nightcap. I was restless in bed and contemplated paying Sydney a spirit dream, to see if I was able to appeal to her softer side through beautiful scenary. Deciding it was probably a terrible idea, I allowed myself to fall into a deep, dreamless slumber. I woke in the early afternoon and repeated my boring routine, shower, eat, T.V. I decided to rack up the pool table and get some practice in, Lee had been schooling me and whilst I was not a competitive man, I was a gambling one. If I was going to continue to stay in this house, then we would have to start making these games worthwhile. I was deep into my third game, when the door opened and in stepped a very unexpected visitor, Sydney.

"Oh" I said, trying to act aloof as I knocked the red ball into the pocket "It's you".

"Were you expecting someone else?" Sydney playfully enquired, she made a big show of glancing around the empty room. "Am I interrupting your social calendar? I don't want to keep you from the mob of fans beating down your door".

So Miss Sage has a sense of humour after all. It was nice to see her somewhat relaxed so I decided to see how long the banter could last. "Hey, a guy can hope. I mean, it's not impossible that a car load of scantily clad sorority girls might break down outside and need my help". I looked up from my shot with a cheeky smile, anxious to see her response.

"That's true, Maybe I can put a sign out the front that says – ATTENTION ALL GIRLS: FREE HELP INSIDE". I laughed heartily and then corrected her "Attention all HOT girls".

The inner feminist in Sydney was fighting an eye roll "right, that's an important distinction". Pleased that I had been able to briefly observe a more human side to Sydney's personality, I decided I enjoyed it and pushed my luck further.

"Speaking of hot, I like that uniform" I point at her with my pool cue, Sydney was dressed in her usual alchemist attire, jeans and a conservative blouse, which she somehow still managed to make look attractive.

Giving in, she rolled those beautiful eyes and I knew our banter was over. "Are you the only one here" she said as she gestured to my solo match.

"Nah, Clarence is around, doing… I don't know. Old man stuff. And I think Lee is fixing that lock before he heads to L.A. It's kind of funny, he seems upset that he has to use tools. He keeps thinking that the strength of his hands should be enough".

Sydney looks over at me and shoots me a rare, genuine smile "and I don't suppose you offered to help?".

"Sage" I said, looking her in the eye. "These hands do not do manual labour". I bent down to sink another ball, glad my skills were improving and not embarrassing me in front of Sydney. "You want to play?"

Sydney looked at me with great surprise "what? With you?"

"No, with Clarence" I sighed at her response. Her disgust in my species was so strong that the girl couldn't even partake in a simple game of pool without fear of our taint. "yes, of course with me".

"No" she responded a little too quickly for my liking, "I need to talk to you about Jill".

I was silent for a moment, I had abstained from drinking, so I knew whatever the issue was, I couldn't be 100% to blame. "She wasn't sick today" I stated, maybe with a little too much conviction.

"No, well not in the same way. She got sick out in the sun in P.E. I'm going to see Keith after this to see if we can get a medical excuse. I actually tried to call him earlier but with no luck". So Sydney was using her free time to go visit Keith, hoping her disdain for him was as deep for him as it was for me, I could see there was more on her mind.

"But that's not why I am here, there's a guy who likes Jill. A human guy". Sydney almost tripped over her words and the look of disapproval was clear on her face.

"Just have Castille rough him up" I knew this was a brutish solution but this is what the guardians had been trained for. Protecting Moroi from strigoi and silly human crushes.

Sydney leaned back against the wall and sighed loudly. "That's the thing, I asked him too". I eyed her and she realised her words were misleading. "Well not rough him up exactly, It's Eddies roommate, I asked Eddie to tell him to back off and make some reason for him to stay away from Jill- like that she is too young" Sydney was speaking faster and I could hear the desperation in her voice. "You understand why this is important right? No human and Moroi dating?".

I understood perfectly well, this taboo was ingrained in us from a young age. Our people shied away from humans and they were there too feed us only. The idea of dating, sleeping with or being romantically entangled with a human goes against everything we are taught from a young age.

I kept my eyes on the table "yup , I'm there with you Sage but I don't see the problem".

"Eddie won't do it" Sydney exclaimed "He said he doesn't think Jill should be denied to chance to date and go to dances, that it's okay if her and Micah hang out. As long as it doesn't get serious".

This surprised me, I stood up away from the table and spun the cue on the ground. "That is weird. I mean, I get the logic and there's something to it. She shouldn't be forced into isolation while she is here. I's just surprised Castille came up with it".

"Yeah but that's a hard concept to live by. Where do you draw the "casual" line?" Sydney mused, "Honestly, I get the feeling Eddie didn't want to confront Micah- the roommate. Which is crazy, because Eddie doesn't seem like the type to be scared of anything. What is there about Micah that makes Eddie so uneasy". I could see genuine concern on Sydney's face, like she worried for Eddie.

"Is Micah some big, hulking guy?"

"No" she said "He's built I guess, good at sports. Really friendly and easy going. Not the type you would be afraid would turn on you if you warned him away from your sister".

Does Sydney want to date Micah? Is that why she is so concerned with Jill dating him? She seemed too prudish to even entertain the idea of dating whilst on the job, but history has shown, girls will do crazy things for guys.

"Then you can talk to him" I offer, "or just talk to jailbait and explain things to her" Convinced I had given Sydney the answer she desired, I turned back to the game to sink another ball.

"That was my plan, I just wanted to know you would back me". So Sage needed my support. "Jill listens to you and I thought it would be easier if she knew you agreed with me. Not that I know how she feels, for all I know is could all just be overkill". Sydney looked down at her hands, I could sense that she feared she was being overly cautious in her role.

"Can't hurt to be too careful" I reassured her, " and I'll let her know how I feel about it".

This surprised Sydney but she recovered quickly, "Thank-you" she said earnestly.

Sensing my opportunity to lighten the mood and conversation, I peered at her with a playful smile and asked her to play a round with me.

Sydney looked around awkwardly "I don't really…"

The door opened suddenly and Lee strode in, unaware that he was ruining any progress I had been making thawing Sydney's icey demeanour.

"Hey Sydney, I saw your car out there". Lee glanced around the room, "is, uh, Jill with you?"

"Not today", Sydney answered quickly "Lee have you ever dated a human girl at your school?"

This girl just keeps me guessing, I raised my eyebrow in judgement and asked "are you asking him out Sage?"

Sydney sent an angry scowl my way and barked a quick no at me, as she returned her attentions to Lee, eager to hear his response.

"No, not really" Lee answered thoughtfully, "I have some human friends and we go out as a group and hang out but I've never done more than that. L.A. is a big place though, there are Moroi girls around. If you know where to look".

Lee, you dark horse. I turned my full attention to my potential new best friend "oh?"

Sydney and Lee continued chatting whilst my mind raced, Moroi girls and L.A. I might be able to make some fun for myself out here after all.

"Can we go back to the part about Moroi girls hanging out in L.A.?" I asked hopefully, "Can you direct me to some of the… oh I don't know, more open minded ones?" I glanced at Lee but his full attention was still on Sydney.

"This might seem kind of weird" Lee's smile faded and his gaze fell to his feet. "but I mean, I wouldn't mind asking Jill out".

Had these words actually come out of his mouth? This sleazebag wanted to date Jill? "What, do you mean like on a date? You son of a bitch, she is only fifteen". Anger has taken me over and I am seconds away from punching him squarely in the face, the only thing stopping me and was the look on Sydney's face.

"Adrian" she said softly "I'm guessing Lee's definition of a date is a little different than yours".

"Sorry Sage but you have got to trust me when it comes to dating definitions. Last time I checked, you weren't an expert in social matters. I mean, when was the last time you were even on a date?". I asked the question hoping she could sense the joke but by the quick look of hurt on her face I realised I had hit upon one of the few weaknesses Sydney had and I instantly regretted my words.

She recovered quickly and shook off any hurt I had caused her. "but there is an age difference?" She had ignored my question, which bothered me slightly. Maybe she dated all the time and I underestimated her.

Lee had become quiet and withdrawn "There is, I am nineteen. Not a huge gap, but big enough. I shouldn't have said anything".

Sydney instantly feels for Lee and considers her next question carefully, "why would you want to ask her out? I mean, she is great but are you doing this to distract her from Micah and give her a safer dating option or do you like her?"

"Of course he likes her" I scoffed quickly. He would be crazy not to like her.

I could sense that Lee was conflicted between being honest and trying to escape a potential beating from me. "I like her. I've only talked to her a few times but well, I'd really like to get to know her better".

Of course he would like to get to know her better, I have used that very same line on several girls before.

As I was about to make a scathing remark, I was abruptly cut off from Sydney "once again, I think you guys have different definitions for the same word". Sydney was trying to be diplomatic but diplomacy was useless in matters of the heart. Especially matters of Jill's heart.

"Not true" I said "All guys mean the same thing when they say they want to get to know a girl better". I eye Sage and give her a slight smile "you are a well-bred girl, so I understand why you would be too innocent to understand, good thing you have got me here to interrupt". I look to Sydney to read her response but am disappointed when she ignores my witty barbs.

"I think it would be fine if you go out with her" I glare at Sydney, had she seriously just said those words?

Lee looked around uncertainly "assuming she would even be interested".

Sydney gave the guy a reassuring smile and assure him she would be. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We were here to protect Jill and now Sydney was giving some stranger, a Moroi we know nothing about, permission to take Jill out?

"So you're just going to let her go off with him alone?" I couldn't hide my shock at how careless Sydney was acting, this didn't seem like the alchemist I thought I was beginning to know.

"Well she can't even leave campus, not without me" Sydney looked to me, assuring me she wasn't sending Jill off packing with a stranger.

"Whoa" Did Sydney just invite herself along on the date? "If you get to come along as chaperone, I do too" This date was all of a sudden looking up. This could potentially be my opportunity out of the house, some meaningless fun.

"If we both do, then Eddie will want to come" Sydney stated to me "Doesn't sound like much of a date". This new scenario sounded even better, I get out of the house and I get to ruin any romantic sentiment Lee may have been planning. I interject "So, think of it as less of a date than a faux-family outing. One that will entertain me whilst protecting her virtue".

Sydney puts her hands on her hips and turns to face me down "Adrian, we are focusing on Jill here. This isn't about your personal entertainment".

She is getting riled up and it plasters a smile on my face. "Not true, everything's about my personal entertainment. The world is my stage. Keep it up, you are becoming a star performer in the show". I give her a wink as I can see her anger begin to surface.

Lee clears his throat awkwardly, reminding me that he is still in the room. "Do you guys want to be alone?" I see the humour in his comment but I can see that it immediately sends Sydney into a mental tailspin. She gathers her self-control and apologises whilst trying to hide her flushing face.

"Look" Lee says "I like her and if that means bringing your whole group so I can be with her, that is fine".

"Maybe it is better this way" mused Sydney "Maybe if we do more things as a group, aside from her feedings, she won't be in danger of wanting to go out with a human guy".

Finally Sydney was seeing what I had been trying to say, even if it was for Jill's sanity and virtue and not mine. "This is kind of what I wanted before, more of a social life".

Sydney shot me a look "that's not quite what you asked for". She was right but I was not in any position to argue.

"If you want to get out more, you should come back with me to L.A. tonight. I'll be back here after class tomorrow so it will be a short trip".

I was so happy with Lee in this moment that I almost offered up Jill's hand in marriage. A night in L.A. A night free of this retirement home. "Will you introduce me to those girls?"

I was half joking with this question, mostly to get a rise from Sydney and I was successful as she rolled her eyes and muttered "unbelievable". I was about to laugh at my jokes success when the door suddenly opened and Keith walked in with the most sour look on his face.

 **AN- thanks for reading. Hope you are enjoying it. Adrian's personality is becoming a little bit lighter with every interaction he has with Sydney, and hopefully he continues to be really fun to write on behalf of. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism, all is appreciated**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Keith entered the room, surveying the light mood and instantly killing all the smiles that had previously littered our faces. The guy was the human equivalent of Valium. He seemed particularly unimpressed to see Sydney, not only here but seemingly enjoying herself as well.

"I saw your car out there Sydney, what are you doing here?" He barked at her, his voice dripping with anger.

"I had to speak to Adrian" she answered quickly "did you get my message? I tried to call you earlier".

He replied curtly "I've been busy, let's talk. In private". He motioned for her to follow him, Lee and I exchanged confused glances and I shot Sydney a sympathetic roll eye.

"Sure" Sydney answered, like a schoolgirl who had been scolded "I was, I was just leaving anyway". Sydney stepped towards the door, following Keith out.

"Wait, what about…" I nudged Lee to shut him up before he could say anything further. Keith looked like he wanted to ream Sydney for socialising with us, and I didn't want to add any additional fodder to the argument.

"See you around, don't worry. I'll remember what we talked about" I chirped cheerfully at Sydney, hoping to reduce the panic line drawing across her forehead.

"Thanks" Sydney said, rather dejectedly "see you guys later". She followed him out the door, with her head hung low. Keith caused her grief and worry, his very presence had upset her. I had an overwhelming desire to protect Sydney from Keith, which confused me further but didn't stop me from excusing myself to Lee and grab my cigarettes, so I had an excuse should I be caught eavesdropping.

I heard their raised voices the second I opened the front door. Aware that I could be caught, I shut the door quietly and moved out of sight. I lit my smoke, and leaned back on the porch, desperate to hear what had made Sydney so cagey.

"Keith you didn't see her. Maybe it won't kill her but it was miserable for her, she was in agony". Sydney was pleading to Keith for help for Jill, which shocked me. The idea of Sydney caring for Jill's wellbeing, outside the realms of her job showed a softer, more caring side to Sydney, one that possibly would not be shared by her colleague.

"I don't care if they are miserable or not" Keith was confirming my opinion of him "and neither should you, our job is to keep her alive. There was no mention of making her happy or comfortable". Geez and I thought Sydney had a low opinion of our race. This guy went above and beyond.

"I wouldn't think anyone would have to tell us" she retorted, "I'd think being sensitive human beings we could just do it". Sydney seemed to overlook the fact that Keith didn't actually appear to have human sensitivity

"Well now you can. You can either get someone above us to issue a note to the school or you can give her ice baths after gym class. I don't really care what you do but maybe it will keep you busy enough to that you'll stop coming over here unannounced and throwing yourself at those creatures of darkness. Don't let me hear of this happening again". So that was Sydney's concerned about socialising with Lee and myself. Keith had turned our innocent banter and smiles into something sinister and debaucherous.

"You are unbelievable" Sydney cried out, his harsh words had cut through her like a knife and she looked at him with anger in her eyes.

"I'm looking out for your soul, it's the least I can do for your dad. Too bad you aren't more like your sisters". Keith said the words sisters with malice in his voice and this wasn't missed by Sydney, she looked as if she was trying to swallow back tears as she turned away from Keith. He stormed off to his car, jumped in and sped off. Sydney stood staring off at his car, that was disappearing in the distance. She kicked the gravel in anger and a light spray of dirt and rock entered the air. A few small pebbles hit her car and I saw her wince in regret. "Sorry" she mumbled to her car and I could hold my tongue no longer.

"Would he accuse you of being evil for talking to an inanimate objet?". Sydney spun around and caught her breath. She fought back the emotion she had felt earlier, she took her anger Keith had ignited and turned it upon me.

"Where did you come from?" She demanded, upset that I had possibly overheard her conversation and angry I had been able to surprise her.

"Other door, I came out to smoke and overheard the commotion". I tried to downplay the entirety of what I had heard. "It is rude to eavesdrop" she muttered, knowing how prudish she had sounded.

"It is rude to be an arsehole like that" I nodded to where Keith had driven off. I needed Sydney to know that I had heard everything that was discussed and that I was on her side. "Are you going to be able to get Jill out of class?" I asked, hoping I could take her mind from the ugly encounter she'd had with Keith.

"Yeah, I should be able to" Sydney said "It'll just take a little longer while I get some other Alchemist to be our fake parents. Would've been a lot easier if Keith had just done it".

I appreciate Sydney's concern for Jill and assured her we appreciated it "Thanks for looking out for her Sage. "You're okay, for a human".

She almost laughed, almost. "Thanks" she said with a shy smile. She turned to walk to her car and I was not ready for this encounter to be over. I don't know what it was about Sydney, but I enjoyed our banter. She challenged me and continually kept me on my toes.

"You can say it to, you know?". I quipped back at her as she went to get in the car. She paused before answering "Say what?".

"That I'm okay, for a vampire" I replied with a playful grin on my face. She shook her head whilst smiling "You'll have a hard time getting any Alchemist to admit that. But I can say that you are okay for an irreverent party boy with occasional moments of brilliance".

Occasional moments of brilliance, her words flew around my mind "Brilliant, you think I'm brilliant?". I threw my arms in the air and exclaimed "You hear that world, Sage said I'm brilliant". I looked over to see Sydney's smile had turned to a quick frown, "That's not what I said". She fired back at me.

I knew I should quit whilst I was ahead, "thanks for the ego boost. I'm going to tell Clarence and Lee all about your high opinion". I threw her a devil may care smile and turned to walk inside. As I closed the door behind me I could hear her denial which just made me smile more. I had no sooner heard her car pull out of the driveway, when my phone vibrated profusely in my pocket. I pulled it out and answered quickly "where do you and Sydney get off?" Jill's angry voice shouted down the phone at me and I furrowed my brow with confusion. "were you guys trying to just embarrass me or pimp me out as well?" And all of a sudden the reason for Jill's anger came screaming to me. She had witnessed the whole conversation between Sydney, Lee and myself and was not happy. With good reason.

"Jill, I get it. You are mad but Sydney only came here to ask for my help to protect you. She was worried about you and this Micah guy and didn't know what to do. You can't blame her for being concerned". I knew my argument was weak but throwing Sydney under the bus seemed like the only way out of this awkward conversation.

"I am not mad at you both for being concerned, I am mad because you both offered me up on a silver platter. Lee must think I am just some silly child that he will know go on a pity date with". I had never heard Jill this angry before and I couldn't blame her.

"I'm sorry Jill, I really am. But if it helps, Lee was the one who brought up dating you. He seems really interested in you". I hope she would accept my apology and move on but I could hear that her anger had not subsided at all.

"Just keep out of my love life Adrian, you and Sydney had no right to talk to Lee. Just stay out of it". She hung up the phone before I could beg for mercy for Sydney, the poor alchemist was in for an earful upon returning to school.

Before I could give it another thought, Lee informed me we would be leaving for L.A. in an hour. I raced to shower and dressed for the night. Lee was hardly my perfect partner in crime for picking up girls and partying hard but begger's cannot be choosy. We jumped in his car and took off to drive to my freedom. Lee made adequate company for the trip, he chatted freely about university, life in L.A. and about girls. I answered questions when asked but didn't really feel like engaging him in continual conversation. My mind kept wandering back to how mad Jill had been at Sydney and myself. I felt like I should call Sydney to apologise but I don't think our friendship was quite on that level just yet.

Before I knew it, the sun had dipped below the horizon and darkness filled the sky. As we pulled into downtown L.A. Lee asked if we should eat before heading out. We stopped at a 24 hour diner and ordered quickly.

"Do you think Jill will say yes to spending more time with me?" Lee asked me tentatively. He had some nerve, asking me about this. I had learnt my lesson from my phone call with Jill today.

"I really don't think we should talk about Jill" I said quickly to Lee. "I want you and I to be friends and in order for that to happen, you and I should avoid talking about politics, religion and Jill". I looked Lee in the eye when I spoke, hoping he took this statement seriously, even though there was jest in my voice.

Our food arrived and Lee quickly changed the subject back to something safe and we ate our meal in relative peace. I looked up from my burger to see a group of cute girls at the counter. "Lee, what are the chances of running into Moroi girls tonight?" I said with a wink. He laughed and assured me that where we were going, there would be Moroi aplenty.

We paid for our food and drove off to a club that Lee said was well known in the Moroi community. As we walked in, I finally felt like I was home. All around me stood scantily clad girls and multiple bars, overstocked with every alcohol one could imagine. I turned to Lee to smile but he was speaking to a few very, very good looking Moroi girls. Maybe I had underestimated Lee's prowess with the ladies. He walked over to introduce two of the Moroi girls to me. "Adrian, please meet Lucy and Anna. Ladies, this is my friend Adrian". As I shook the hands of the girls, I looked into both of their eyes, knowing that once they spied my brilliant green eyes they would be all but putty in my hands.

"Ladies we have had an extremely long drive, and I find myself quite dehydrated. May I get you both a drink?" They both quickly answered yes and our foursome walked towards the bar. We began with shots, although Lee was quick to make excuses about class tomorrow. We took our drinks to the lounges and got comfortable. Anna had hair so dark, it reminded me of Rose. Bad thoughts entered my mind and I quickly decided that even though she was exceptional looking, I couldn't entertain the thought of targeting my attentions on her. Lucy it would be, with her golden glowing hair and sparkling blue eyes. We sat for a few hours, talking and drinking. Heavily drinking. The more I conversed with Lucy, the less appealing she became to me. The girl had the personality of a wet blanket and zero sense of humour. She giggled at anything said and found every excuse to touch my arm. I looked up to see Lee sitting as far from Anna as possible and politely avoiding all her obvious advances. The guy obviously had it bad for Jill and was aware that I was monitoring his behaviour tonight. It was a good thing since Jill was monitoring mine. She would be pleased to see that Lee was a perfect gentleman. He excused himself from Anna and walked over to me.

"Adrian, uh I have class early tomorrow so I need to head home now. Do you want to come or are you going to…". He trailed off and glanced at Lucy to see her reaction to the question. "Oh you cannot leave yet Adrian, it is still early. Please don't go home yet" She pleaded at me. I had zero interest in this girl and her desperation made me roll my eyes but I was nowhere near drunk enough to go home just yet. "Lee I could not possibly leave these lovely ladies unattended, you go on ahead home and I will give you a call later". Lee said goodbye to the girls and left us to our drinks.

I turned my attention back to Lucy and tried to tune into her boring story about her boring life. I finished the drink in front of me and let my mind wander to my encounter with Sydney this afternoon. The way her golden blonde hair shone in the afternoon sun, the way her smile lit up her face when we casually bantered. The anger Keith had caused her had pained me. I felt the need to comfort her, to assure her that Keith could neither harm or hurt her. I wish I could take her in my arms and protect her from anything that could ever hurt her. This final thought played over in my mind and caused me great concern. I had no idea where this desire came from and I had to banish it from thoughts. It was completely inappropriate to be thinking along this line, not to mention useless. Harbouring desires for anything, even friendship with Sydney Sage was completely useless. She looked at me as just another complication is her job, in her life. A complication that she neither wanted or needed. Drawing my attention back to Lucy, she was still caught up in a mundane story, I needed to make her idle talk stop. I grabbed her face and kissed her quick and hard. She finally stopped talking and returned the kiss. She was drunker than I expected and the kiss was anything but romantic but it took my mind from Sydney Sage, which was desperately needed. I kissed Lucy but in my mind I continued to see Sydney's face. This would not do. I stopped the kiss and turned to the bottle of liquor sitting on the table, without using a glass I emptied the remainder in my mouth and swallowed quickly. With my new sense of inebriation, I turned to Lucy and suggested we go somewhere more private. She took my hand and we walked out of that club and straight into a cab. We stumbled through her front door, that bottle of Tequila now affecting my balance. I knew that I was drunk but that didn't stop me from walking straight into Lucy's kitchen and locating a half empty bottle of vodka, this will do just fine. I returned to the living room where Lucy had lit candles and played some terrible music the girls these days someone enjoyed. I bet Sydney would not listen to this rubbish. Without thinking, her name was in my head again. I shook her from my mind and took a swig from the bottle. I joined Lucy on the couch and kicked off my shoes. I needed to forget all the silly women in my life, Jill, Rose, and even Sydney. I emptied the rest of the bottle and turned to Lucy. I kissed her hard, took her hands and placed them above her head. As I lay her back on the couch I realised she was a terrible kisser and the passion was lacking but I needed distraction and this silly, boring girl would have to do. We undressed quickly but before we could go any further, I stopped and looked in her eyes. She had sweet eyes but they lacked depth and beauty. They lacked what I craved. I stood quickly and ran to the bathroom, I heaved over the toilet and all the liquor I had consumed this evening came pouring out of me. I knew I was a mess, mentally and physically. I cleaned myself up and returned to the living room where I thankfully found Lucy asleep on the couch. I grabbed my pants, threw them on and settled in for an uncomfortable night sleep on the floor. I tried to sleep but my mind would not switch off, all I could see way those beautiful eyes.

 **AN- I decided I couldn't stomach writing a love scene between Adrian and a random, so I ensured he did enough to wake and upset Jill but not enough to upset the rest of us** **hope you guys liked the chapter, please feel free to review and give constructive criticism.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I was seeing beautiful flashes of gold and yellow when I was jolted awake by a high pitched annoying noise. My mind was a mess and my body similar but I managed to shake off the haze and realise that the awful high pitched noise was my cell phone. Whilst groaning, I rolled over to grab my displaced phone from under the coffee table, hoping to god I didn't wake Lucy, who was passed out on the couch. I looked down at the phone to see Lee was calling and it was well after lunch time, meaning his was done with classes. "Please tell me you are still in L.A. and haven't abandoned me and my hangover?". Lee laughed down the phone at me and assured me he was still in town. I told him I would escape this place and once I had figured out where the hell I was, I would text to him to pick me up. I looked around to locate my things and spotted my shoes that I had flung off in the heat of the moment, or lack thereof. Once I was fully dressed, I was ready to do my mid-afternoon walk of shame. Looking back to see Lucy lightly stirring, I knew I had to run out the door or face an awkward conversation regarding my suddenly lack of interest in sex last night. It wasn't my finest hour but I walked out the door and didn't look back. Running down the street, I located a quiet coffee shop and went in to order coffee whilst I waited for Lee to come and save me. Three cups of coffee later, I saw Lee pull up out the front with a knowing grin upon his face. I raced out the door and slid into the car. Thankful that I had left my sunglasses in the car yesterday, I slipped them on and turned to look out the window, clearly indicating to Lee that last night was not an open topic of conversation for our drive. Lee was smart enough to drive off without needing any further explanation and we set in for a long road trip back to Palm Springs. Knowing full well that Jill saw everything that had happened last night, I began to fall into a pit of despair. She had seen some of my misadventures and I just hope to god that the bond had gone numb before she saw Lucy and I disrobe drunkenly. Lee cleared his throat and had the good sense to turn the radio on, to dull the silence consuming the car. I stared out the window, knowing that I would have to face Jill this afternoon. She would downplay what she had seen but I had to live with the guilt that I was dragging an innocent teenage girl into my promiscuous lifestyle and there was nothing either of us could do about it. I resigned myself to a painfully awkward afternoon, so I rested my eyes on the journey home.

As we pulled up at Clarence's, I thanked Lee for the lift and ran inside to shower the night off me. I thankfully found Dorothy in the kitchen where she fed both my hungry stomach and my aching desire for blood. I went to the sitting room to try and conjure up some form of justification for last night's behaviour, which I knew there wasn't. As I sat wallowing, my hangover was becoming progressively worse and my body was craving pizza. Dorothy provided well for us but the gourmet style in which she cooked was sometimes just over the top and I just wanted the basics. I knew Jill would be arriving soon, with Sydney and Eddie in tow. I was beginning to get nervous, I assumed because I was about to face Jill's judgemental stares but a little part of me was worried that Jill had confided in Sydney about my wrongdoings from last night. And the idea that Sydney might know I was with that silly girl caused me a great deal of grief. Just as I was considering the possibility of hiding out in my room and avoiding the situation all together, I heard Sydney's car pulling up in the drive. I sat up and tried to perfect my hair, and prepared myself for the onslaught of personal shame that was about to take me over.

They walked through the door and Jill the amazing girl that she is, had three pizza boxes in her arms. Knowing that she couldn't possibly be as upset as me as I imagined, I leapt from the couch and ran towards her. "Jailbait, you're a saint, a goddess even". I grabbed a pizza box from her and returned to the couch, much to Dorothy's dismay.

"Hey" Sydney exclaimed "I paid for them". She gave me a side eyed glance. "You're okay to Sage" I said with a smile. I knew Sydney was responsible for this pizza heaven but I was treading lightly, not knowing the extent of her knowledge of my adventures last night.

Clarence and Lee joined us in the room and Lee was quick to take a seat near but not too close to Jill. I could see by the look on his face that he was clearly smitten with her and that his intentions were nowhere near as impure as I had imagined them to be. Just as everyone was settling in to enjoy themselves, Dorothy reappeared at the door, escorting Keith into the sitting room. The angel of doom and gloom was here to ruin the fun once again.

"What are you doing here?". Sydney asked Keith, with trepidation in her voice. She was obviously on edge around him and was nervous that the scene he had walked into would cause further trouble with the alchemists.

Keith looked at her with a kind smile and winked, yes actually winked at her. "Came to check in on everybody and make sure all is well. That's my job, to look after everyone". I don't know who this guy was trying to fool but it took every fibre of my being to not laugh in this guy's face.

I shot Sydney a glance and she returned my confusion tenfold. It was obvious the change in his behaviour was an act and one that she didn't intend on questioning. Jill moved towards me and we chatted casually about her first few days at school. She was animatedly telling me about how all the girls at her school had ridiculous tans, like girls from television and laughing about how similar her and Sydney's dorm room was to her room back at St Vladamir's.

I glanced up to see Keith taking a seat beside an uncomfortable looking Sydney and try to engage her in conversation. She managed to keep her cool and seemingly was asking questions that he wasn't or didn't want to answer. I would give anything to know what she was asking but I think possibly after my last attempt to eavesdrop that I would be smart to stay away. They continued to speak but the tone of the conversation was taking a turn and I could see that Keith was showing his true colours to Sydney once more. My overwhelming desire to protect Sydney struck once more and I loudly asked Jill how P.E. was treating her.

"Not great" she admitted. She went into further details about her embarrassing escapades and how she wishes she was a little more co-ordinated.

"You can't go on like that, the sun around here is brutal" Lee exclaimed, like he was desperate to be her knight in shining armour.

"I agree" Keith said. I was pretty sure my jaw had hit the floor. "Sydney, why didn't you tell me how bad it was?".

Sydney was clearly as shocked as me and not willing to let this go. "I did, that's why I was trying to get you to contact the school". Sydney was angry and shooting daggers at Keith.

"You didn't really give me the whole story". Keith shot Jill a sugary smile "Don't worry, I will take care of this for you. I'll get in touch with the school officials and the Alchemists".

I was not a violent man but in this moment I had the overwhelming desire to slap Keith in his fake, ridiculous face. Sydney looked at the ground, almost as if she was afraid her emotions would not be easy to mask. "I already asked them". She said but she sounded resigned to the fact that Keith had ignored her and was already beginning another conversation with Clarence.

I couldn't stand for this. Keith was acting like an arse and he needed to be told. The look on Sydney's face pushed me further and just as I was about to give him a piece of my mind, she cut me off.

"How was L.A.?" She asked me quickly, desperate to change the topic. She didn't want me to call Keith out and I respected that. "You went there with Lee last night right?". So Sydney was in the dark about last night and I thought it best to keep it that way.

"Yeah, it was great" I grinned at her "Lee showed me college life".

Lee looked over at me and laughed "I wouldn't go that far, I didn't know where you were half the night".

I looked over at Lee with disbelief, not sure if he was intentionally trying to sell me out but he was doing a stand up job. "We parted ways." I tore my eyes away from Lee "I was getting to know some of the other Moroi in the area".

Not even stoic Eddie could keep from laughing "oh, is that what you call it?".

Jill stood abruptly, not wanting to rehash any more of last night's debauchery again. "I'm going to get blood now, is that okay?". No one quite knew who she was asking but I was aware she just needed to escape the room and quickly. Clarence assured her Dorothy would be in the kitchen and she raced off.

Lee had a look of concern on his face and he questioned if she was okay. "She is still just a little stressed" Sydney quipped. Oh did she know the half of it.

"I thought of something that might be fun for her.. for all of us" Lee mused tentatively. He looked towards Sydney, knowing that she would have to be the one to convince in this situation. "If you think it okay. I mean, it's kind of silly but I thought we could go mini-golfing. They've got all these fountains and pools on the course. She's a water user right, she must be missing it out here". Lee had put some thought into this quasi-date and I had to give him some credit for it.

Eddie frowned "She does, she mentioned it yesterday".

I looked over to see Keith stop the texting away on his phone and exchange an awkward look with Sydney. It was obvious our magic use made the alchemists uncomfortable and either one of them was sure how to deal with us talking about it, let alone using it in their presence.

"She'd probably like that a lot". I reluctantly admitted. I didn't want Jill dating anyone but Lee had planned an extremely thoughtful and P.G. date so who was I to ruin it. Plus this meant that we would all get to tag along, so the thrill of a little fun was too tempting to pass up.

"You have later curfew on weekends, right? Want to go tonight?" Lee asked, peering at Sydney with high hopes.

Before Sydney had a chance to say no I quickly interjected "I'm game, literally and figuratively". And Eddie added that he was in if Jill was in. With desperate eyes, we all peered at Sydney, begging her to not say no.

"I can go" Sydney said but was peering up at Keith, as if asking for his permission. This would be the very definition of fraternization with us evil creatures and she knew she had to be careful. "Keith?" She asked slowly.

Keith who had been distracted with his phone mistook her asking for permission as an invitation to join us. "Huh? Oh I can't go, I have somewhere to be". And thank god for that, no one wanted Mr Boring tagging along tonight.

Just then Jill walked back into the sitting room, in a much better mood than when she had left. Dorothy followed close behind, with a bottle of red wine, an extremely expensive bottle of red wine. As she poured Clarence a glass, he offered me one.

I looked over at Jill and politely refused the drink. It took all the self-control I possessed but I was able to say no. "You should" Jill encouraged. I looked over at her and refused again. I had over-indulged last night, she didn't deserve me doing that again to her tonight.

"It's the weekend, it's not that big of a deal. Just be careful". Jill was insistent and she assured me with her smile that I was capable of controlling my alcohol intake. I knew she wouldn't back down so I relented "all right, pour me a glass". Dorothy came over to me with a kind smile and poured a glass large enough to make me smiled. The woman knew me well already.

"Pour me one too please" Keith had asked. I stopped drinking to stare at him, shocked the guy had the nerve to take a sip of anything in this house.

"Really?" Sydney asked, "I didn't know you drank?" . To my knowledge, alchemist's were fairly religious people who abstained from most enjoyable things in life, so I was equally as shocked that Keith had requested a drink.

"I'm twenty-one" Keith quipped back at her, knowing that her shock wasn't based on the legality of his drink.

"Somehow, I'm thinking that is not Sage's concern. I thought Alchemist's avoided alcohol the same way they avoided primary colours". Sydney was dressed in grey, Keith in brown. Sydney looked down at her clothing and shot me a short frown.

"One glass won't hurt". Keith retorted and hey who was I to judge. I said those words almost every single day. Keith was about to bring the glass to his lips and I couldn't help but have some fun with the guy. "Mm o positive, my favourite". Keith had just taken a sip and suddenly spat it out, spraying it across the room. I saw Sydney move slightly, happy that none had gotten on her.

Clarence was peering down at his glass, swilling it around. "Is it? I thought it was a cabernet sauvignon?".

I supressed a laugh and murmured "oh, my mistake" with a shy smile.

Keith gave me a tight smile and took a small sip from his glass, still unsure of its contents. I was happy that I had made him feel stupid, a small amount of payback for the way he treated Sydney earlier. I looked up and she caught my eyes, giving me a thankful smiling, almost knowing my intentions. I returned the gaze, happy that she knew I was on her side. Her attention returned to the conversation, one about Eddie teaching Jill basic defence skills so she could defend herself from any potential attack. I was reaching for the bottle of wine when Eddie claimed that he could even teach me a thing or two.

"No thank-you, these hands don't sully themselves with fighting". I claimed, the idea of full-contact fighting with Castille seemed like something I had very, very little interest in.

"Or manual labour" Sydney said, looking over at me and smiling.

"Exactly". She and I shared a personal joke and it felt great. My hard work was paying off because this ice queen was slowly warming to me. "but maybe you should have Castille show you how to throw a punch. It might come in handy. Seems like a skill a plucky young lady like you should possess".

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" she laughed "but I'm not really sure when I would need it".

Just then Clarence interjected and insisted that Sydney must learn how to protect herself, that everyone should. The old man was nice enough but he started to go off on another tirade about Vampire Hunters and I tuned out completely. The idea of Castille teaching Sydney defence skills made sense, I hoped that I could be there to watch that class. Sydney seemed like she was co-ordinated enough to be useful but she had a delicate sensibility that made it difficult to imagine her actually attacking something or someone with enough force to cause them pain. Also the idea of Sydney in workout gear, possibly sweaty wasn't a bad thought either. I heard someone clear there throat and I looked straight up into Jill's eyes. The idea of a sweaty Sage quickly left my mind and I dropped my eyes to the ground. It was completely inappropriate for me to think that way and I was ashamed that Jill had picked up on it. I drained the left of wine in my glass and when Clarence offered another, I didn't have the strength to say no. Jill had never questioned why Sydney's eyes were engrained in my mind and why I thought of them often. I think she assumed it was the just the side of me that was a little crazy and had chalked it up to my artist's sensibility. But from the look on her face that I had just seen, she was beginning to think it was something more, and to tell you the truth, so was I. And that scared me more than anything ever had before.

 **AN- thank you everyone for reading. I loved this scene in the book, and it was really fun to write it from Adrian's perspective. Please feel free to review! Enjoy**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

We filled Jill in on our plans for the evening and made quick exit for the car before Keith could change his mind and tag along to ruin everyone's fun. I instantly called shot gun and took my place in the front, alongside Sydney. Jill slide in between Eddie and Lee in the back, who was clearly embarrassed by his father's ranting and raving. I reached to light my cigarette when Sydney reached over to grab it out of my mouth. "This is a non-smoking car Adrian, I am sure you have enough self-control to last the short journey to the mini golf course". I looked over at her incredulously, first of all I was shocked at how close she had come to potentially touching me, and secondly that she dared take my cigarette away from me without fearing for her life. I rolled my eyes at her and sat back in my seat quietly.

Lee continued to apologise for his father, and so help me god I think it made Jill fall for the guy even more. She assured him that everyone knew Clarence had not meant to frighten everyone and that maybe the idea of Vampire hunters was just easier to deal with rather than knowing Strigoi were to blame for his nieces death. The drive to the course took us out of Palm Springs and just as I thought we had left civilisation behind, we neared close to the Desert Gods Golf Course and Resort. This place looked like paradise, the type of place people with my parents sort of money hung out and I reminded myself to come back to check it out later. Just as I was concocting a plan in my mind, I heard Jill gasp in glee from the backseat.

"A waterfall" she exclaimed, I looked out my window to see Mega-Fun mini golf centre and a huge fake waterfall, cascading down fake rock mountains. "It's amazing". Jill was mesmerised and Lee sat smiling at her, knowing he had done well.

Before Sydney could stop the car, I made a dramatic exit to light my cigarette, knowing she would be rolling at eyes at the back of my head. After everyone had exited the car, we were all strolling up to the entrance of the park when Sydney mused "I've never actually been mini-golfing". We all stopped to stare, how could anyone get to the age of eighteen and have never mini golfed.

Lee was the first to recover from the shock and find his words. "Never?"

Sydney replied with an uneasy laugh, "Never".

I couldn't help myself, "How does that happen? How is it possible that you've never played mini golf?" I'm guessing guys at Sydney's high school had been lining up to take her on dates, I guess mini golf just wasn't big in her home town.

She paused before answering "I had kind of an unusual childhood". This piqued my interest, what sort of childhood was Sage forced to live. My mind went to the thought of her growing up in some sort of crazy, super religious cult that hated mini golf.

Eddie glanced over at her, "You? I was practically raised at an isolated school in the middle of nowhere Montana and even I've played mini golf".

Sydney looked at all of our surprised faces, and walked away to the counter to sign us all up. We hadn't meant to make her uncomfortable but it seemed as if she had missed out on a rite of passage as a teenager.

We all collected our balls and clubs and set off. The course was littered with novelty holes and over the top challenges. I knew I was terrible at mini golf and just hoped that my charm and wit would stop me from embarrassing myself horribly. Sydney's first few attempts were not great either but I could see by the concentration on her face that she was figuring out some ridiculous scientific algorithm in her mind and it was seemingly increasing her skill set in the game. She quickly took a deciding lead over the rest of us, even Eddie who is god's gift to anything athletic.

Eddie and Sydney were discussing their different techniques for mini golf success when I interjected into the conversation. "I just rely on natural talent" seeming I was coming dead last, they had to have known I was messing around. "When you have such a wealth of it to draw from, the danger comes from having too much". Shooting them a grin, Sydney just rolled her eyes but Eddie muttered to himself that didn't even make sense. Realising my humour was lost on them, I grabbed my flask from my pocket and took a quick swig of the expensive whisky I had found back at Clarence's.

Sydney was staring at the flask and cried out "What is that? You can't have alcohol in here". I was about to explain to her the necessity of sneaking alcohol in to activities like this when I realised I was working the wrong crowd. Sydney didn't see alcohol consumption as fun, she saw it as something that potentially ruins lives. "You heard Jailbait, it's the weekend". I chose to throw Jill under the bus, rather than take Sydney's judgemental stares.

I lined up my shot towards the dragon but placed too much power behind the swing and the ball shot off into the air, hitting the dragon squarely in the eye. To embarrass me further, the ball them slowly rolled back towards me, stopping at my feet. Eddie had a quick chuckle "Natural talent huh?"

Whilst shooting Eddie a glance which I hoped conveyed my displeasure at him laughing at me, Sydney claimed that she thought I had broken the dragons eye.

"Just like Keith's, I figured you'd appreciate that Sage". The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. I had only meant them as a joke but seeing the look on Sydney's face, I had really hit a nerve.

That was inappropriate" Eddie roused, not knowing Sydney's disgust for Keith.

"Sorry Dad" I muttered as I took my turn again, this time completing it in three shots. "There we go, three".

Sydney and Eddie exchanged an amused glance and called out "Four" in unison. I looked over at them, shocked at their disregard for practice shots. "It was three".

Sydney shook her head and claimed that I had forgotten the first shot, "The one where you blinded the dragon" she reminded me.

"That was just a warm up" I claimed, shooting her a mega-watt smile, "Come on Sage, you know how my minds works. You said I was brilliant, remember?". I said this with a laugh but I knew she was infuriated.

"You said that?" Eddie exclaimed.

"No, I never said that". She shot me a look of angry desperation "stop telling people I said that". I don't think my laughing grin helped the case but she proceeded to mark my shot as a four. The three of us went to move onto the next whole when Eddie stopped us, telling us to wait for Lee and Jill to catch up.

I took a sip from my flask and glanced over at the happy couple. They were clearly too wrapped up in each other to take the game too seriously. They both seemed to be enjoying each other's company, "You had nothing to worry about Sage, she went straight for him" I told Sydney, knowing she had been worried our match making skills might be a bust.

"No thanks to you" she snapped. That I was not expecting. "I can't believe you told her every detail of my visit that night. She was so mad at me for interfering behind her back with you, Micah and Lee". Now it made sense why Sydney was mad, she assumed that I had told Jill every single thing we had spoken about, when in reality Jill had seen the entire conversation as if she was there herself.

"I hardly told her anything" I defended myself. "I just told her to stay away from that human guy".

"Micah?" Eddie asked, glancing between the two of us.

Sydney met his eye and suddenly looked uncomfortable. So it turns out Sage had gone rogue from Castille as well. Sydney went on to defend her actions and she and Eddie argued that whilst Lee seemingly really liked Jill, they couldn't trust anyone with her safety.

Eddie went into hyper protective mood and was starting to question whether Sydney had really thought through the entirety of her plan, which was just ridiculous seeming Sydney overly thought through every single detail of everyone's lives.

"Enough you two" I interjected, I didn't want the argument to harsh the light buzz I had. Everyone was enjoying themselves and I didn't want that ruined. "Your argument is useless, I mean look at them. That human boy doesn't enter into it".

Sydney and Eddie glanced over at Jill and Lee who had almost caught up to us. They could both see that the couple were having a great time and that Jill's mind could not be further from Micah.

Sydney, whilst seemingly happy for Jill looked a bit guilty also, like she had pushed Lee onto her. "There is an age difference between them" she said, I think more to herself.

Four years separated Jill and Lee. Rose had been seventeen when she began her affair with her then instructor Dimitri, who was twenty-four at the time. I know I had a very questionable moral code but it had certainly raised a few eyebrows. I think the four years between Jill and Lee was a moot point at this stage. "Believe me" I scoffed, "I've seen ages difference. Theirs is nothing". Speaking of Rose pushed me back to a dark place, hoping that Sydney hadn't sensed my sudden mood change, I walked off quickly to the next hole.

Looking up at the next hole, I burst out in laughter. "Sage" I called out, "You have got to see this". The hole was Dracula's Castle, complete with a Dracula statue. I knew she would appreciate the over the top, almost cartoon version of our society.

Eddie and Sydney reached the green when she stopped, dropped her club and did something that shocked me completely. She burst out laughing. And not just a short quick laugh, a deep belly laugh which filled her face with happiness. She was glowing with pleasure and it was a sight to see.

Eddie turned to me and muttered "I don't think I've ever seen her laugh".

"Certainly not the reaction I was expecting" I mused, "I'd been counting on abject terror, judging on past Alchemist behaviour" I looked over at her "I didn't think you liked vampires?".

Her laughed had dimmed but she still was grinning, "This isn't a vampire, not a real one. And that's what makes it so funny. It's pure Hollywood camp. Real vampires are terrifying and unnatural. This? This is hilarious". Unaware that she had just insulted me pretty horrifically, I decided to let it pass, not ruin this mood that she was in. Sydney smiling did not happen often, so who was I to scare it away. She was still staring at the statue of Dracula when I offered to take her photo alongside of it. She agreed quickly and ran beside it, smiling away for the photo.

I took a few, which was unnecessary because the first photo turned out perfectly. I looked it over, her golden hair shone and not a strand was out of place. Her eyes shined bright and sparkled with happiness. "Okay, even I can admit that's pretty cute". I didn't want to overdo the compliment, but pretty cute was an understatement, Sage looked stunning in the photo, even next to a ridiculous Dracula.

Sydney took the phone back and glanced at me with her mouth slightly hanging open, her mind racing as if she was over analysing my compliment. She recovered quickly and we all continued on with the game, knowing that it was getting late and they would have to head back to meet curfew very shortly.

As we came across the final hole, we reached the waterfall in all of its glory. It was pretty cheesy but Jill was ecstatic with the sheer amount of water surrounding her. We were all standing around, watching Jill's happy face when she suddenly raised her hands and a section of the waterfall broke away and twisted into a braid over us. She then shattered it apart and a mist of tiny droplets rained down upon us. This was pretty basic magic use and we were all enjoying Jill's happiness until I looked up to see the terror frozen upon Sydney's face.

"Jill, don't do that again" Sydney said with fear littered through her voice but Jill was in a trance and she made another section of water dance around us. "No one's around to see, Sydney" Jill claimed but I don't think that was what was causing the fear in Sydney. Our magic use was unnatural to the Alchemist's and this sort of public display was something of their nightmares.

"Stop it" Sydney exclaimed, the panic growing in her voice now, "Don't do it anymore" but Jill proceeded to ignore her. She turned to Lee and suggested that since he was an air user that he could create fog from the water.

Lee looked around uncomfortably and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He could tell Sydney had grown uncomfortable and that she had the power to end the date. "Ah, well its's probably not a good idea. I mean, we are in public..". but Jill wasn't taking no for an answer and she encouraged him to join her again.

"Jill" I angrily spat out "Stop it". I knew she could feel the seriousness of my request through the bond and she dropped the magic instantly. She looked over at me confused but accepted that magic time was over.

The ever vigilant Castille encouraged us to finish the game, so they could make it back to school on time for curfew. The other three continued on with the match but I looked up to see Sydney still trying to recover from what had just happened. Our magic scared her and she felt out of her element. If there was anything I had learnt about Sydney Sage in our short time together was that she was a control freak and our magic took away every sense of her feeling secure.

"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly, not wanting to draw the groups attention to her fear.

"I'm fine" she said quickly whilst turning away from me. She had let her guard down and I think I was the last person she wanted to show weakness to. Her mood still worried me and I needed her to understand that I knew how she was feeling.

"Sage" I said, whilst taking a few steps towards her. "Leave me alone" she snapped and hurried off to the exit of the game. I knew better than to follow her, she obviously needed to work through this alone. I caught up to the others, making an excuse that Sydney had to make a phone call, so they didn't get suspicious.

We finished the match and caught up with Sydney outside the entrance. She had seemed to settled her nerves but I continually glanced over with her with concern. She was scared of us, scared of what we could do and I hated that. There was nothing I could to ease her fear and I hated that as well.

We checked the scores and unsurprisingly Sydney had come in first, followed closely by Eddie. Lee was grumbling about his third place position, claiming he used to be much more skilled at the game. If anyone had a reason to be upset with their score, it was me coming in dead last. Usually this sort of loss would embarrass me terribly but right now I couldn't think of that. I could only think of the look of fear and disgust on Sydney's face when she was reminded that we were not her friends. We were actually the evil creatures she had been taught about her entire life. Getting Sage to see past her Alchemist bred stereotypes of us was like taking one step forward and two steps back. Jill hadn't helped matters today, not at all. But hopefully the more time Sage spent with us she could see that we were not the monsters of her nightmares.

 **AN- I HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THE CHAPTER. I THINK ONCE YOU HAVE READ BLOODLINES YOU COULD SEE ADRIAN'S INSTANT ATTRACTION AND INTEREST IN SYDNEY SO I HOPE I AM WRITING THAT THE WAY WE ALL IMAGINED IT HAPPENING. AGAIN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REVIEW! Enjoy**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sydney kept quiet on the drive home and sped away the moment Lee and I had exited the car. She was obviously still on edge but I didn't get an opportunity to get a complete feel of her aura. She had the intellects yellow but there was a slight purple splash that occaisionally made an appearance. Purple was an odd colour to get a reading on, especially on Sage. I couldn't quite make sense of it but with everything that had happened tonight, it made complete sense for her aura to be all over the place.

I walked into the house and excused myself from Lee. I headed to my room and decided to see if Jill was asleep so I could check in on her via a spirit dream. I had not used spirit much since arriving in Palm Springs, so I was hoping the little that I had drunk tonight wouldn't inhibit my skills using it. I waited about an hour and then reached out to see if Jill was asleep yet.

Luckily for me Jill had just fallen asleep and was easy to reach. I decided the dream should take place in somewhere that Jill had felt safe and happy, so I created the cafeteria from St Vladamir's, where Jill had went to school back in Montana. Jill entered the dream and looked around with a smile on her face. Her aura was absolutely beaming, the date with Lee had left a pleasent glow about her. Seeing Jill this happy almost took away the doubts that i had about her dating Lee, much to my disgust.

"Adrian" Jill exclaimed, "You haven't visited me like this in forever. Is everything ok?". A sudden look of fear took over her delicate face.

"Everythings fine, I am just bored and wanted to check in on you, for a post date catch up". I said with a grin. I didn't actually want to hear all the details of date but the longer i stayed in a spirit dream, the less likely i would be to over indulge in drinking.

Jill's face instantly lit up, "Oh isn't Lee amazing. He has travelled all around the world and he promised me that we could travel together. He studies so many different subjects to keep his options open, although he is taking a light course load this semester so he can spend more time with Clarence. Which is sweet right?". Jill was beginning to ramble and it was endearing to watch. She had fallen heard for Lee but she was young and this was her first crush so who was i to dampen her spirits, just because my love life was a bust.

"Sounds like he is a good guy, as long as he knows he has to face me if he ever hurts you" I said, trying to sound serious but Jill saw straight through my harsh exterior and just laughed.

We continued our familar banter for a while until Jill decided that it was time for me to head to sleep, which was probably smart. I had used a fair amount of spirit on this dream and knew there would be backlash. I gave Jill a big hug and went to send her back to her dreamless slumber.

"Adrian, you should not beat yourself up for thinking about Sydney. You guys have more in common than you think. We are all stuck here together, it's a good thing for us to all be friends". And with that, Jill faded from the dream. I knew she had been wanting to say something about my wandering mind but she was unsure about how to approach it. Jill knew that my thoughts about Sydney were causing me mental anguish and it had to be driving her crazy to keep quiet.

I stared at my ceiling for a little longer than i wanted to before falling asleep. I woke around midday and completed my daily ritual. I was bummed to see that Lee's car was not in the drive, meaning he had already left for L.A., so I was stuck in Palm Springs. I knew that we were not expecting Jill and Sydney today which caused me to spiral even further. Facing the thought of being stuck in this house the whole day with no one besides Clarence to entertain me, i decided it was time for drastic action.

I dressed in some of my nicer clothes and set off on foot towards the Desert God's Golf Course and Resort. I had only gotten three blocks from Clarence's when the beating afternoon sun started to take it's toll on me. I had not factored into my plan the unbareable desert heat. I was just about to turn back and admit defeat when i saw a beat up, old silver Audi traveling in the direction I was heading. I stuck out my thumb, something I had seen people do in the movies. To my complete suprise the car slowed down and the occupents rolled down the window. "Where you heading?".

The face behind the voice was an attractive blonde lady, possibly mid twenty's. She was sitting in the passenger side, beside her was a dark haired guy around the same age as her. They were a decent looking couple and I got a good vibe from them. Their aura's were kind and generous, so I knew they would be a safe ride.

"I'm heading to the Desert God's Golf Course and Resort, do you guys know of it?". I asked, pleased that I might not even have to use complusion on the humans. They smiled and told me to jump right in. The drive was short and my kind saviours, Linda and Ray, chatted freely. They had actually gone to school at Amberwood, but had moved out of town after school ended. They were just back to visit their families. They even gave me advice about the best places in Palm Springs to party and grabbed my number just in case they were back in town soon. After thanking them for the ride, I walked up and admired the splendour of the resort. It was modeled on old French archetecure and had a green expansive lawn. Walking through the entrance i stopped at the front desk where I was told that i could not enter the resort without being a member or being signed in by a member. Lucky for me, I had something better than a membership. After some light complusion, the plucky young lady at reception signed me in and set up a tab, to be paid by a wealthy member who happened to not be in town at the moment.

I waltzed through the doors and took a seat by the bar. The bartender, an attractive redhead named Kat spotted me and asked what my posion would be today.

"Kat, here is the deal. I have been forced to live in Palm Springs with only a senior citizen for company. Today I made a daring escape and had to face this west coast sun. So what I'm going to need from you today is to pour me a glass of Glenfiddich, the twenty-six year and when you see that it is almost empty, I would like you to re-fill said glass. And please keep doing so until you are legally not allowed to do so any further". I looked to see if I was going to have to use complusion on Kat but to my suprise she just laughed and said "on the rocks or neat?". I think Kat and I were going to get along just fine.

I was on my six glass and the sun was starting to set. Turns out Kat was from Alabama, which explained her sexy southern drawl. We had spent the afternoon chatting and had become fast friends.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Kat asked, whilst leaning across the bar.

"I think they involve me potentially stumbling back to the retirement home that I currently reside in" I admitted, realising how whiny it had made me sound, I finished it off with a sly wink.

"Well Lou, who works the golf course and I are heading to L.A. to meet up with some friends tonight if you want to tag along?" Kat asked. I think Kat assumed I was a wealthy tourist and her mind was racing with the idea of marrying up. But who I to turn down the offer, it sounded a hell of a lot better than crashing out at Clarence's.

"Sign me up, when do we leave?". I asked. Kat said she just had to cash out my tab and we were good to go. I signed the slip, leaving her a very generous tip on my someone else's dime. She changed quickly, into an outfit so skimpy that even i bauked a little. We collected Lou, a loud mouthed surf type, and jumped in Kat's sturdy Volvo. Kat had managed to smuggle a bottle of whisky from the club, which Lou and I made short work of on the drive. We pulled up in downtown L.A. and to my suprise, the club we were going to, was across the road from "Evening Tide" the club Lee had taken me to the other night. I stayed with Lou and Kat for a drink or two but when it was starting to get difficult to avoid Kat's very obvious advances, I excused myself to go to the bathroom and made a quick bee line for the front door.

Once on the street I puffed down a cigarette and contemplated calling Sydney or Lee to see if they could offer me a lift back to Palm Springs. Just as i was reaching for my phone, I heard my name called. I turned to see Lucy standing in front of Evening Tide, dropping my cigarette to the ground and decided to be civil.

"Lucy, fancy seeing you here". I plastered a smile on my face and hoped she wouldn't be too mad about my abrupt exit the other morning.

"I was actually on my way home, I have an early class tomorrow but a bunch of my friends are inside. You should go introduce yourself, get to know us L.A. folk". She was overly friendly and did not seem to be upset about our encounter the other night/morning.

"Yeah I might just do that, it was great to see you again. Get home safely". I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried into the club. Looking around, I saw a bunch of good looking Moroi girls standing around the lounge area. I moved to the bar and ordered myself a double whilst trying to think of a witty way to approach the girls. Just as i was about to make my move, two of the girls made their way over to meet me and introduced themselves. One had runway model potential, with sleek black hair and deep blue eyes. The other blonde and pleasant looking as well. They told me their names but the music was blaring and I did not care enough to find out. I followed them to the dance floor and lost myself to the music. I had not been dancing in a very long time and was suprised at how stress releiving I found it. I think the drinks helped loosen me up and before i knew it, the dark haired Moroi and I were kissing on the dance floor. It was messy and drunken but my mind was at ease and it felt great. We returned to the lounge to overhear the blonde girl I had met earlier discussing plans for an after party at their house. Knowing that I had no way of getting back to Clarence's, the afterparty seemed like a safe bet for the rest of the night. The girls collected their things and a group of about 10 Moroi girls and guys made their way to the party. We jumped in cabs to make our way to Long beach, of all places. We entered the apartment and I looked around to see that the girls lived in a mess. Clothes, make up and rubbish littered the living room but it didn't seem to both the rest of the group. Everyone made their way in and the liquor started flowing so who was i to judge a little mess. Someone had turned on some music and people started dancing on the coffee table. Say what you will about the Moroi but we knew how to party. Hours passed and the liquor started the run dry. Most people started leaving the party and before I knew it, I was alone with the two girls I had met at the start of the night.

"Jet" Someone called. Realising that they were calling me, I had forgotten that I had used my fake name at the beginning of the night. Jet Steele was a fairly bad ass sounding name, for those times when I didn't actually want to be Adrian Ivashkov.

"Jet" The black haired girl called again. I turned to see her encouraging me the follow her into her bedroom. It was late and Jill would be sleeping, a little harmless kissing couldn't hurt. She led me down the hallway into a little room that overlooked the ocean. Her bedroom was just as messy as the living room but i saw a sign above her bed that said Krissy. At least I now knew her name. She kissed me roughly, pushing me back againt the door. Her hands went straight to my hair, tugging at it softly. She knew what she was doing and it was great. She backed away from me and gave me a look of desire. She stripped her shirt and threw it on the ground into the mess. She backed towards the bed, pulling me with her hand. I fell on top of her and we continued kissing, moving down to her neck. Her hands had moved to my jeans and she started undoing the buttons. Knowing things were progressing pretty quickly, my mind quickly went to Jill. I grabbed Krissy's hands to stop her, telling her I needed some air. Excusing myself, I made my way to the balcony and grabbed my cigarettes. It was before dawn so it would be way to early to call Lee or to bother Sydney. Deciding that public transport might be my only option, I took out my phone to start researching buses back to Palm Springs. But just as I begun my search, my phone battery died. Now I was really stuck. If I went back inside, I would have to avoid Krissy's wandering hands, so I chose to stay outside and attempt to watch the sunrise. The apartment was so close to the beach but the balcony faced in the opposite direction.

I stayed on the balcony for what seemed like hours, contemplating every possible idea for getting home when I heard a light knock on the door. I ignored it, and it knocked again. It was not my apartment so I had no interest or reason to go open the door. It was only when I heard a third knock, that the girls started stirring inside. I heard Krissy open the door and mutter to whoever had dared wake them so early.

"Hey Jet, there is some salesperson here to see you". Krissy called, suprising me. Salesperson? It could only be Sydney, Jill must have sensed my dispair and sent her to rescue me.

"Send her out" I shouted, not wanting to go inside and face all three girls.

I had my back faced to her but I could sense her walk through the door. I had lit another cigarette, blowing the smoke before I spoke. "Tell me this Sage, why the hell would someone put a building near the beach but not have the balconies face the water? They were built to to look at the hills behind us. Unless the neighbours start doing something interesting, I'm ready to declare this structure a total waste". I was hoping that I would be able to keep Sydney's mind from the scene she had walked into.

I heard her sigh "I'm so glad I've got your valuable opinion on that. I'll be sure to note it when when I file my complaint to the city for their inadequate ocean views" she said with her tone of voice was dripping with sarcasim.

I turned around, with a hint of a smile on my face. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in church or something?" I asked, knowing that Jill had sent her.

"What do you think? I'm here because of a fifteen year old girl who doesn't deserve what you put her through". Sydney exclaimed and it was evident she knew about the bond. Which meant her mind had to be racing about what had gone on here last night.

"Oh" I said, the smile vanishing from my face. "She told you". I turned back around, not trusting myself to meet Sydney's eyeline.

"Yes and you all should have told me sooner. This is serious, monumental". She was right. We should have told her sooner but right now I couldn't handle how much she must be judging me.

"And no doubt something the Alchemist's would love to study" I sneered. If they found out, they would ship us off and hook us up to wires. The Alchemist's needed to know everything about our race, so they could protect the humans from us.

"I promised her I wouldn't tell". She said and I beleived her. "But you still should've filled me in. It's kind of important information to have since I'm the one who has to babysit all of you".

"Babysit is kind of an extreme term Sage". I retorted. Is that how she saw this? I was just a child she was meant to babysit?

"Considering the current scenario? No, not really". She said with an honest frankness to her voice. And she was once again right. I'm standing on the balcony of two strange girls, without my shoes and the sun was barely up. I could not blame her for judging me entirely.

"Did you bring a coat?" She asked, her tune a little softer.

"No" I answered, aware that i sounded like a petulant child. I heard her turn to re-enter the house.

I finished my cigarette and she stood beside me, dropping my shoes at my feet. "Put those on, we're leaving".

She was clearly angry but she was acting like a parent and I was not on board with that, I already had two parents that were dissapointed in me, I did not need another.

"You are not my mother" I snapped at her.

"No, your's is serving a sentence for perjury and theft, if memory serves". Ouch, Sydney hit me with a low blow and anger built up in me.

I whipped my head around and shot her a look of death "Don't you ever mention her again. You have no idea what you are talking about". How dare she throw that in my face, she knew nothing about my mother and she had no right to bring her up.

If I had scared Sydney, she hide her emotions well. "Actually, I was the one in charge of tracking down the records she stole".

This I did not know but it didn't matter. "She had her reasons" i said through gritted teeth.

"Your so willing to defend someone who was convicted of a crime, yet you don't have have any consideration for Jill, whose done nothing wrong". She could not be for real, I lived every single second of every single day with Jill in my full consideration.

"I have plenty of consideration for her". My hands were shaking and I stopped to light a cigarette. My hands were shaking and it took everything to keep my anger in check. "I think about her all the time, how could I not? She's there... I can't feel it but she is always there, always listening in my head, listening to things I don't even want her to hear. Feeling things that even I don't want to feel". I turned to look at the non existant view and took a puff of my smoke.

"If your so aware of her, than how can you do stuff like that?". She gestured inside, "How could you drink when you know it affects her too. How could you do.. whatever you did with those girls, knowing that she could see it. She is fifteen". She grimaced when thinking about might have happened. I could ease her mind and assure her that nothing had happened but she obviously already thought the worst of me, so I am sure she wouldn't beleive me if I told her otherwise.

"I know, I know". I said knowing that I was in the wrong. "I didn't know about the drinking, not at first", a small white lie. "When she came over after school and told me, I stopped. I really did. But then ... when you guys were over on friday, she told me to go ahead since it was the weekend. I guess she wasn't as worried about getting sick. So I said to myself that I would just have a couple. Only last night it turned into more than that. And then things got kind of crazy and I ended up here". I paused, not really sure why I was trying to explain myself to her. "What am I doing? I don't have to justify my actions to you".

"I don't think you can justify them to anyone". She said, clearly infuriated. The aura showed her anger, the air around us was think with tension.

"Your one to talk Sage" I pointed my finger at her. "At least I take action. You? You just let the world go by without you. You stand there whilst that asshole Keith treats you like crap and you just smile and nod. You have no spine, you don't fight back. Even old Abe seems to push you around. Was Rose right that he's got something on you? Or is he just someone else that you wont fight back against?". I had probably gone too far by mentioning Abe but she had made me angry.

"You don't know the first thing about me Adrian Ivashkov" she cried out. "I fight back plenty". She was mad now, really mad.

"You could've fooled me" I fought back. I could see the fire in her now and was baffeled why she hid it around people like Keith and Abe.

She gave me a tight smile, swallowing her anger. "I just don't make a spectacle of myself when I do. It's called being responsible".

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night" I conceeded.

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Well that's the thing, I don't sleep anymore because I have to come and save you from your own idiocy. Can we leave now please?". She was pleading with me now.

I bent down to put on my shoes and socks. I knew that this wasn't healthy, I was hurting Jill and I was hurting myself. I needed my freedom but I needed to have some form of routine in my life. My anger disipated and I looked up at Sydney with honesty in my eyes.

"You have to get me out of there. Out of Clarence's. He is a nice enough guy but I'm going to go crazy if I stay there". I was desperate and she had to hear it in my voice.

"As opposed to your excellent behaviour when you aren't there". She looked into the apartment, to where the two girls were seated. "Maybe your two groupies have room for you?".

"Hey show some respect, there real people with names. Carla and Krissy, or is it Missy?" If I had been trying to prove a point, I had failed. Spending time with these girls discounted any progress I had made with Sydney so far.

"I've told you before, I don't have any control over your living arrangement" she said with a sigh. "How hard is it for you to go get your own place? Why do you need me?" she asked, obviously not knowing situation.

"Because I have almost no money Sage. My old man cut me off, he gives me an allowance that's barely enough for cigarettes". This was a weak argument, knowing Sydney could easily throw that back in my face.

"I'm sorry, I really am" and she actually seemed it. "If I think of something, I'll let you know. Besides, doesn't Abe want you to stay here?" she asked. She looked down, "I overheard you two on the first day, how he wanted you to do something for him".

So she had overheard, turns out that I was not the only eavesdropper in our group. I stood up, my shoes now securely on my feet. "Yeah, I don't know what that is all about. Did you hear how totally vague he was too? I think he is just tryng to screw with me, keep me busy because somewhere in that messed up heart of his, he feels bad for what happened with..."

I stopped myself, I didn't want to say her name to Sydney. They were friends so she obviously knew our history, meaning she knew how Rose had acted. Sydney knew that I was a pathetic sap who had been moping around, like a sad sack. I hated showing my weaknesses around Sydney but she was gazing into my eyes like she could see into my soul.

"Adrian" she said, "I'm.." I cut her off before she could say anymore. I did not need her pity.

"Forget it" I said "You don't know what it's like to love someone like that and then to have that love thrown back in your face". And i hoped she never would never have to feel that sort of pain. The idea of anyone causing Sydney that much pain physically hurt me. She did not deserve to ever be treated like that.

A comfortable silence fell between us, we shared a knowing stare when all of a sudden an ear piercing scream rang out from inside the apartment.

 **AN- THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR READING. A LONG CHAPTER FOR EVERYONE THIS TIME. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING ABOUT ADRIAN'S ADVENTURE DOWN TO LA. AGAIN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REVIEW AND FOLLOW :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The ear splitting scream startled us both but due to my hightened sense of hearing, it pained only me. Sydney turned to rush inside ahead of me, not stopping or pausing to worry about her own personal safety. Once in the apartment, we saw the blonde girl sat up on the couch staring at the dark haired Moroi who had gone even more deathly pale then she already was. Her phone was clutched in her hands and fear was halting her voice.

Realising that we were not in any immediate danger, Sydney was first to speak "What's the matter?".

Carla, or at least the girl I thought was named Carla went to respond to Sydney but did a double take, seemingly forgetting that Sydney was human. I walked over and to reassure the girl that it was ok to speak. "It's ok Carla, she knows about us. You can trust her".

And this was all the reassurance she needed. Throwing herself into my arms and crying uncontrollably she managed to speak through muttered sobs. "Oh Jet, I can't beleive it happened to her. How did it happen?".

The blonde girl now rose to her feet, obviously upset by her friends breakdown, "What happened?".

I decided to use very light compulsion on Carla to see if I could not only calm her down but someone get out of her what had happened. "Tell us what happened Carla" I said softly whilst peering into her eyes.

"I'm Krissy" she said whilst sniffling, and i tried my hardest to avoid Sage's judgemental glares. "And our friend, our friend" Krissy tried to explain but her emotions were getting the better of her. "I just got the call. Our friend, another Moroi who goes to our college, she's dead". She looked over at her friend and cried out "It was Melody, she was killed by Strigoi last night".

Both girls gasped and sobbed whilst I looked to reach Sydney's eyes. We might not have known this girl but this was serious. Having Strigoi nearby endangered not only the mission but all of our lives.

Before she could stop herself, Sydney's Alchemist training got the better of her. "Where? Where did it happen?".

Krissy looked at Sydney with disgust, "West Hollywood, behind some club". A silent breath of air excapes my lips, at least it was not in our immediate vacinity or Jill's. Don't get me wrong, this was a terrible tragedy but Jill's safety is my number priority and I could see by the look of relief on Sydney's face, she felt the same.

"At least they didn't turn her" Krissy said forlornly. "She can rest in peace. Of course those monsters couldn't rest without mutilating her body".

Sydney's face had gone completely white and fear took her over. "What do you mean?" She was barely able to ask.

"Melody. They didn't just drink from her, they slit her throat". Krissy was now inconsolable and Carla raced to take her from my arms. Sydney and I both knew there was nothing we could do to help the situation so we both expressed our condolences and headed out to the car.

As I sat in the passenger seat, I could not even bring myself to talk with Sydney. This Melody had been killed in the same way Clarence's neice had been killed. I had overheard him talking about it several times and how he was convinced it was Vampire Hunters and not Strigoi. It was extremely possible that it was the same Strigoi who had attacked both women, maybe one with serial killers tendancies, one that liked to leave a calling card. I did not like thinking that Strigoi were lurking so close to us, so I tried to clear my mind. It had to be just a coincidence.

I glanced over at one stage and I could see the wheels inside Sydney's mind spinning into overdrive. She is a very annalytical thinker, all Alchemist's are by nature and I sincerely doubted that Sage beleived in coincidences.

I was not ready to go back to Clarence's, to be alone and luckily for me I think Sydney must have sensed that. She pulled up to Amberwood and signed me in as a guest to the school. The campus was new and modern, making St. Vladimir's look like something from a horror movie.

Jill sensed that Sydney was bringing me to her, so she and Eddie were waiting at the front entrance to their dorm for me. Jill smiled and flung herself into my arms, engulfing me in a hug that I most definately did not deserve. When we seperated she shot Sydney a greatful smile, appreciating her rescuing me. Eddie on the other hand was not quite as forgiving. Although he did not say a word, from the exasperated look on his face, he did not need to. Fun was not a word in Castille's vocabulary and I am pretty sure he judged anyone who dared to live a little.

"I was so worried" Jill exclaimed. I ruffled her hair and laughed. "Nothing to worry about Jailbait. As long as the wrinkles come out of this shirt, there's no harm done". Sydney looked like she wanted to explode. I knew she was angry at me for putting myself in a situation with other girls whilst Jill could see into my mind. Jill was young but she had always encouraged me to not put my life on hold.

"Now" I continued, "If Sage would be kind enough to play chauffeur, I'll take us all out to lunch". I knew I was seriously pushing my luck but I could not stomache the idea of spending the day alone.

Sydeny looked over at me and sneered "I thought you did not have any money?". Nothing got past this girl did it?

"I said I don't have much money" I jibed back. I certainly did not have enough money for everyone to have lunch but I was not about to admit that.

Jill and Castille exchanged a quick glance, "We, um, were going to meet Micah for lunch" Jill said.

"Bring him along, he can meet the family". I requested, it was probably time I met the guy that had gotten Sage in such a state.

We waited in the shade for Micah, who showed up soon enough. He was a nice looking guy and immediately shook my hand whilst introducing himself, which I always appreciated. He just looked so familar. Too familiar.

"Now I see some family resembelence. I was starting to wonder whether Jill was adopted but you two look kind of alike". Being related had nothing to do with our similar looks.

"So does our mailman back in North Dakota" I joked quickly, trying to deflect away from our lack of family similarities. I was standing there, feeling pretty impressed with my quick thinking when Sydney snapped "South". Realising my foul, I looked up to see that luckily Micah had not caught onto my mistake.

"Right" I said quickly, but still not being able to shake the sense of familarity I got from Micah "There is something familar about you, have we met before?".

Micah shook his head and claimed that he had never been to South Dakota before and turned away from me. "That makes two of us" I muttered to myself but was clearly overhead by Sydney.

Castille being the drill seargant that is said we needed to get a move on to lunch because he had to be back to finish homework this afternoon. What was I saying about this guy being all work and no play.

Seeming my monetary recources were limited and we needed to be quick, we settled on a fast food burger joint. It was a welcome change to Dorothy's gourmet cooking and everyone seemed to be enjoying their meals, except for Sydney and her sad little half eaten hamburger. This was not the first time that I had noticed her avoidance to large and overly processed meals and I was beginning to think that maybe this was more of an issue than just watching her waistline.

"You should have just got a kids meal" I joked. "You could have saved me a lot of money and gotten a toy".

" A lot is an exaggeration, plus now you have leftovers" she countered.

This time I rolled my eyes and snatched a fry from her plate. "Your the one who should take the leftovers home. How do you function on such little food, one of these days you are just going to blow away" I said with a certain seriousness to my voice. It was the first time I had noticed how thin she actually was. Don't get me wrong, Sydney Sage had a killer body and fantastic curves but she was slight and could do with a couple of good meals.

"Stop it" she demanded. This was obviously a sore subject for her and I was the last person she wanted to discuss it with. Plus after our argument this morning, I am sure she did not have the energy to go another round. She had not eaten enough to have the energy for another fight.

"Just telling it like it is, you could stand to gain ten pounds" I said with a shrug. I did not want to push her further so I moved my eyeline over to Jill, Eddie and Micah. As much as I didn't like to think it, Jill and Micah made a decent looking couple. There was a kindness to him that instantly earnt my trust.

"They're kind of cute, maybe Castille was on to something about letting her date at school" I said to Sydney as she groaned and shook her head.

"Kidding, Lee would probably challenge him to a duel. He couldn't stop talking about her when we got back from mini golf. Lee just kept going on about when can we all go out again but yet he dropped off the face of the earth when he was in L.A. and I needed him". It was a bit of a stretch but he had bailed pretty early at the club.

"Had you made plans to meet up? Had he agreed to take you home?" Sydney asked, always being so logical.

"No" I admitted but then asked "But what else was he really doing?". I hadn't thought about it much at the time but Lee had seemed in a rush to leave the club and was not interested in me coming along with him. School did not seem like a huge priority to him so it suprised me that he was in such an agitated state to leave the club. I was probably over playing it in my mind, out of brotherly concern for Jill.

As my mind was wandering, a grey haired man passed by and accidentally knocked into Jill's chair. There was no harm or spillage but Eddie jumped to his feet, ready to protect Jill from the world. The man muttered an apology and Eddie returned to his seat looking a little sheepish.

"Just send him as a chaperone with whoever she goes out with and we'll never have to worry" I said, gestured to Castille. Sydney looked over and was suddenly deep in thought, studying everything about the dynamic between Eddie and Jill. She seems honestly confused and I would have given anything to know what was racing through her mind.

"You seem confused?" I asked, unable to help myself.

She shook her head and sighed "I'm just over thinking things". I did not doubt that for a second but it still made me upset to see her unable to connect all the thoughts in her mind. It was something that I could sympathise with, very often.

I looked down solemly and joked "That's why I try to never do it". Silence filled the air between us but it was not uncomfortable. I was finishing up the last of the fries on Sydney's plate when she looked up suddenly and asked "Hey, how come you told those girls your name was Jet?".

I could tell her the truth, tell her that sometimes being Adrian Ivashkov was the worst thing in the world and I would give anything to be someone else for just one night but it seemed a little overdramatic. "Standard practice if you don't want chicks to find you later Sage. Besides, I figured i was protecting our operation here". I had not thought about that last night but it was definately an advantage to giving the fake name.

"Yeah but why Jet? Why not... I don't know... Travis or John".

I looked up at her and gave her a look of utter dispair. She obviously thought me undeserving of such a cool name. "Because Jet sounds badass".

She looked away down the table to see the others finishing with their food, so we all cleared out to the car to make our way home. I knew better than to suggest extending our outing, so I jumped into the front seat, knowing I was on my way back to Clarence's retirement home for an afternoon of Sunday television.

Micah brought a light and cheerful mood to the car trip, with even Sydney finding it difficult to refuse conversation. It was really beginning to bug me that I could not place the kid's face. We pulled up at Clarence's and I jumped out of the car but before i could even turn around to wave goodbye, Sydney sped off down the street, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. She was obviously still a little sour from our encounter this morning and I could not blame her. She had driven two hours to pick me up from a house where she assumed I had spent the night rolling around in the sheets with the two Moroi girls. And instead of a thank-you from me, we had argued.

I thought back over the argument as I lit a cigarette and sat on the steps on the front porch. Sydney had a fire in her eye's when I challenged that I had not seen before. The purple flashes of her aura were shinning bright and the air between us had been filled with electric tension. I obviously infurriated her and she had a built up amount of anger she needed to release. I was happy to see her release said anger. She needed to be more emotional and less rational. I enjoyed seeing her act human and feel her feelings. The more human she acted, the less she behaved like an Alchemist. And the less she behaved like an Alchemist, the easier it is for me to justify dreaming about her beautful eyes.

 **AN- thanks again for reading everyone. I hope you guys are enjoying reading Adrian from my perspective. I would love some feedback to know if I am doing justice to how everyone imagined the inner workings of his mind to be. Have a great weekend! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The next few days passed uneventfully, I guess in big part to me. I decided it was safer to abstain from Alcohol rather than test my level of self control. I happened across Clarence's library and picked a couple of titles to try and pass the time but a few pages into the first novel I was over come with boredom. Reading just does not inspire me, I don't know whether it's the spirit or the fact that I have an artist's mind but I am far too much of a visual person to get any enjoyment from a book. It seems that reading was one to add to the list of interests that Sydney and I do not share.

When the next scheduled feeding day came, I could not have been happier. Finally contact with someone other than Clarence since Lee had been making himself very scarce. When I heard a car pull up in the drive, I almost sprinted to the front door out of sheer glee. I plastered huge grin on my face and opened the door with anticipation but I was very disapointed with who was waiting on the otherside.

Keith was waiting at the front door with trepidation and was shocked to see me standing there. "Mr Ivashkov, good afternoon. I am just here to see Clarence". Keith wore a fake Alchemist smile and I wish i could just wipe the smirk right off his face.

"Keith, I did not know we would have the displeasure of your company today. Next time you are droping by, please try to give me some warning so I can be elsewhere". I turned around and left him standing in the doorway. I was in no mood for him today and just because Sydney had to be nice to the guy, I didn't. I returned to the sitting room and took my place in front of the television. I was so engrossed in whatever garbage was on that I did not even hear Sydney's car pull up. It was only her polite knock at the door that alerted me to her arrival.

I did not want Sydney and Jill to think that I had been sitting around watching television all day, even though that had been the sum of it. I quickly switched off the television and picked up one of the books I had attempted to read earlier.

Sydney, Jill and Castille walked through the door and I could see Sydney eyeing off the room. "Where is he?" she asked quickly.

Well, hello to you to, geeze Keith really put Sydney on edge. "I don't know" I shrugged. "Off talking somewhere. Your friend has got some sick sense of humour. I think he's feeding Clarence's paranoia about about vampire hunters".

Lee had just appeared, almost as if out of fresh air and he made his way immediately to Jill's side. I could see the Sydney was uneasy with talk of Vampire Hunters around Lee because it seemed to bother him for some reason.

"Does Clarence know about the killing in L.A.?" Castille asked, which Sydney had obviously informed him of.

"He hasn't mentioned it" I said. "I swear Keith's just doing it because he is bored or something. Even I haven't sunk that low".

Sydney sat down across from me and noticed all the energy drink can scattered around the room. "Is this what you have been doing instead?".

"Hey it's not vodka or brandy or, well anything good". So give me a little credit I tried to justify .

Eddie glanced around at the cans and muttered something about Jill having had trouble sleeping the night before.

Sydney stiffled a groan and whined my name. I hated when she said my name like that, as of she was disapointed in me.

"Hey, I'm trying" I claimed and I had been. I may have given up the liquor but I could not live everyday without any bad habbits. I turned to Sydney "If you could get me out of here Sage, then I wouldn't be forced to to drown my sorrows in taurine and ginseng". I stared deep into Sydney's eyes, begging her for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"She can't, Adrian and you know it" Castille interjected. "Can't you, I don't know find a hobby for something". A hobby, this guy was seriously a buzz kill.

"Being charming is my hobby. I am the life of the party, even without drinking. I wasn't meant to be alone". I was growing tired of having to beg for help, I am losing my mind.

"You could get a job" Eddie said whilst sitting in his chair, smirking over at me. "Solve both your problems- make some money and be around people". I was begining to get the feeling Eddie had beef with me, the guy was really testing me today.

I scowled "Careful Castille, there is only one comedian in this family".

"That's actually not a bad idea" Sydney straightened up and said. She actually seemed like she was serious.

"It's a terrible idea" I said whilst glancing between the two of them.

"Why?" she asked "Is this the part where you tell us that your hands don't do manual labour?".

I wish that was the only drawback. Whilst my skill set that included charm, wit and great looks went down a treat with the ladies, it did not make me qualified for many positions of employment.

"It's more the part where I don't have anything to offer society" I countered, suprising both Eddie and Sydney with my honesty.

"I could help you" Sydney offered. I almost asked her if she had hit her head. I am not quite sure what has come over Sydney but I think this was the first favour she had offered towards me since we met.

"Are you going to do the work and give me the paycheck?" I asked hopefully, "Because that would actually help".

"I can give you a ride to your interviews and I can make you a resume that would get you any job". She paused and eyed me over "Well, within reason".

I stretched back out on the couch and decided that this working idea was not for me. "Sorry Sage, just not feeling it".

Clarence and Keith then entered the room, discussing Keith's interest in Clarence's constant babble. Dorothy had followed them back in the room and was happy to see Jill had arrived. The look of desire and longing on Dorothy's face was one of an addict and I could see that it was making Sydney physically uncomfortable.

"Hey Sage" I called "I don't want an interview but do you think you could give me a ride to get some cigarettes?". I would kill two birds with one stone, get cigarette's and keep Sydney away from the awkward blood situation.

Sydney looked please for the distraction but she still looked to Keith for permission. He shrugged and did not give her another thought. Jumping up she grabbed her bag, "Okay, let's go".

We walked out to the car and the realisation hit that if Sydney helped me looked for jobs, it would mean more time out of the house and more time with her. I certainly did not want a job but I could do with an afternoon of freedom and a little banter with Miss Sage.

Once we got in the car, I turned to Sydney and said "I changed my mind, I'll take you up on helping me get a job". Sydney almost swerved into oncoming traffic she was so shocked.

"That was fast. Are you serious?" she asked. There was a very good chance that she was on to me and my plan.

"As much as I ever am. Will you still help me?". I was really hoping that Sydney wasn't bluffing ealier with her offer of help.

She paused for a moment before speaking. "I suppose so, though there is only so much I can do. I can't actually get you the job. I don't suppose you have any idea what you'd actually like to do?".

"I want something entertaining" I said, "And I want to make lot's of money but do as little work as possible".

"Lovely, that narrows it down" she muttered.

We drove the rest of the trip downtown silently and Sydney pulled up directly in front of the convenience store. She pulled off a professional style paralell park and looked to me, seeking praise. I jumped out of the car, and ran into the store to grab my cigarettes. My normal brand had increased in price and I was lacking in funds but refused to go out and ask Sage for pity. I bought an inferior brand and returned to the car in a huff. I sat in the front seat, mumbling about the price increase.

"You know, quitting would also be a great way to save some..." She cut herself off, staring off down the street. Her gaze was fixed on a run down, sleazy looking tattoo parlour.

"I need your help" Sydney asked, looking at me with pleading eyes and who was I to resist. She jumped out of the car and took off down the street before I could stop her. I almost had to run to catch up with her and she filled me in quickly about the tattoo's at her school. They seemed dangerous and unpredictable, and I could understand her concern about her friends being caught up in this sort of thing.

"Even if it's not Alchemist technology, they're still doing something dangerous, not just to Kristin. What Slade and thos guys are doing - using the steroids to be better at football, is just as bad. People are getting hurt". She is genuinely concerned about her friends and I realised that I would do anything to help her right this wrong.

We looked up to see a small door open in the alley and a man walked out smoking a cigarette. He called to the person inside that he was just stepping out for ten minutes, Sydney looked to me and I knew that this was our moment.

The man he called to walked to the front of the store and was fixing something at the register. Sydney looked to me "I have to get back there, into that door" she said, gesturing to the back of the palour.

I arched my eyebrow "What, like sneaking in? How very black ops of you. And oh, you know- dangerous and foolish". I've done some pretty stupid things but letting Sydney break into the tattoo parlour was not something I wanted to add to my list.

"I know" she said, sounding calm "But I have to know something and this might be my only chance".

"Then I'll go in with you in case that guy comes back" I could not let her do this alone. "Never let it be said that Adrian Ivashkov doesn't help a damsel in distress. Besides, did you see him? He looked like an insane biker. They both did".

She frowned at me, not wanting to admit that she might actually need my help.

"I don't want you to... wait" she stopped, inspiration striking her "You talk to the guy inside"

"Huh" she wanted me to go inside without her? Now I'm really confused.

"Go in the front, distract him so that I can look around. Talk to him about, I don't know. You'll think of something" she said quickly and then raced off to the side door before I could refuse the plan.

Stepping through the front door of the tattoo shop, I instantly felt like I needed to shower. I had hung out in some pretty shady places before but this place was a new low. Knowing that Sydney's safety depended on my part in this plan, I approached the counter and began quzzing the guy on tattoo's, loudly enough to cover any noise that Sydney might be making in the back.

The guy refused to budge, claiming ignorance when it came to the copper tattoos. But then I mentioned money and the talk turned. The guy pretty much confirmed he could provide the copper tattoo and that it would come with the bonuses. His ony concern was my chosen design.

"Can you draw a skeleton riding a motorcycle with flames coming out of it. And I want a pirate hat on the skeleton. And a parrot on his shoulder, a skeleton parrot. Or maybe a ninja skeleton parrot. No, that would be overkill but it would be cool if the biker skeleton could be shooting some ninja throwing stars. That are on fire". I was just babbling now, trying to keep the guys attention but in my head, this was actually turning out to be a pretty badass tattoo.

"That's the most rediculous thing I have ever heard". This guy was not impressed with me. He seemed to think the only concern would be getting enough of the ink to complete the design.

He started telling me about the wait list of people ahead of money, when the front door swung open and the second scary looking biker guy walked in barking about the back door being locked. The guys walked off to check the back door when I cried out wait and babbled about the tattoo a little more. They blantently ignored me and rushed off out the back. This was my cue and I turned to leave the shop without seeming overly suspicious. I walked down the street and waited quietly beside the car. I could see the two bikers look out from the shop, obviously knowing they had been fooled. I kept my back to them when I saw a terrified looking Sydney walking quickly back towards where I was hiding. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in behind the car.

She gasped quickly in fear and I told her reassuringly that it was only me. "Don't look back, just get in the car" I said calmly. We both slid into the car and exhaled loudly, knowing how close we had come to being found out. We shared a glance of relief and Sydney fell back in her seat, obviously waiting for the adrenaline kick to clam down.

"That was too close, but you did good by the way" she said , smiling over at me from the side of her face.

"I know" I said proudly, "and I kind of want that tattoo now. Did you find what you were looking for?". I looked over at her, with her eyes closed she looked so at peace, her beautiful face gleaming in the afternoon sun.

Her eyes fluttered open. She glanced over at me and sighed "I did, and a whole lot more".

"So what is it?" I asked, "They're putting drugs in the tattoo?"

"Worse" she whispered "they're using vampire blood" her voice so full of disgust. She then started the car and pulled out of the perfectly performed park. She was not in the mood to speak, her mind heavy with the task ahead of her.

We drove in silence, my heart aching that I could not find the words to put her at ease. We had performed a break and enter and Sydney had nearly been caught. We were reckless and Sydney had put herself in danger, something that clearly goes against all of her Alchemist training.

She pulled up at the house and I reached to open the door. Before getting out, I looked back at Sydney, still unable to find any words. I met her eyeline and stared, knowing she was struggling. She smiled softly at me and then restarted the engine. I hoped out of the car and waited until she was out of sight before I left to go back inside.

Sydney had made a major discovery today and was now in an Alchemist's worst nightmare. Human's were being injected, unknowingly with Vampire blood and Sage now had to deal with the fall out of our knowledge. I knew she would not turn to Keith for help, I just hoped she wasn't too scared to turn to me.

 **AN- THANKS EVERYONE FOR READING, PLEASE REVIEW AND GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

After finishing my cigarette on the front porch, I stayed outside until it got dark. I was not necessarily avoiding Clarence or Lee but I needed a moment to clear my mind. The aftermath of this afternoon's near miss was catching up with me. Why had I not just used compulsion on those guys in the tattoo shop? We could have all the answers we want and Sydney would not have been in any danger. I was angry at myself for not using spirit on them but deep inside I knew the magic use would have just upset and scared Sage, so I resisted the urge to use it. Knowing that the kids are her school were being injected with vampire blood was a huge discovery, which meant it was only a matter of time before Sydney had to alert the other alchemist's. And once they investigated, it was only a matter of time before more Alchemist's and potentially Moroi found out that Jill was in hiding out here. My priority was Jill's safety but I had a niggling worry in the back of my mind that if we were found out, we would all be seperated and sent away from each other.

Finally entering the house, I heard Clarence and Lee speaking in the sitting room. I decided to raid the fridge and then retire to my room, the idea of making small chat with those two just seemed nausiating right now. After grabbing a quick snack, I snuck quietly down the hall and stepped into my room. I lay back on my bed and threw in my headphones, melting away to the randomly selected tracks that played.

I was thinking back to lunch the other day,I had really loved seeing Jill so happy being out in public and feeling like she had her freedom. I needed to do more to keep my moods in check, I hated the thought of spirit's darkness seeping into her, like I saw happen with Lissa and Rose so many times. Even though Rose was anything but a delicate creature, she had taken so much darkness from Lissa over their bonded years that it eventually started to mess with her mind and her moods. She began communicating with ghosts and having a violent temper. She even saw the ghost of her friend, that had been killed in front of her. The spirit had made her shadow kissed and I need to make sure to limit my spirit use from here on in, I need to protect Jill from it.

I thought back over that poor kid that had been killed, right in front of Rose, he was so in love with her. He was not the only one but he, like me, was under the impression that she loved him back. Rose on the other hand was already in love with Dimitri but was using that red headed kid to fool herself. What was that kids name... Mason something. And then it hit me.

Micah was an absolute doppelganger for Mason, Rose's friend that had been killed. Eddie, Rose, Mason and two other Moroi had run away and been taken hostage by two Strigoi last year. Whilst they were attempting escape, Mason had been killed and Rose killed the two Strigoi in a fit of spirit induced/grief stricken rage. Wittnessing Mason's death had changed Rose but I think it was also what changed Eddie. He was Mason's best friend and had been there when he was killed but the Strigoi had been feeding on him, so he was basically rendered useless. He blames himself for not being able to protect Mason and I think when the attack went down on Jill, he saw it as another failure. He now lives his life to protect Jill and refuses to see the good that life had to offer him now. I can see the sadness in his aura.

Micah resembeling Mason actually clears up why Eddie was so keen for Jill to befriend his roommate. I think Castille wants Micah to have happiness, something he cannot offer Mason. It is fair enough but sad. We are all so young but have all experienced such horror and sadness in our lives already. It is enough to drive anyone to drink but somehow I am always the only one indulging.

I tossed and turned in my sleep that night, my dreams littered with sadness and fear. I awoke the next morning still tired and a little depleted. I sought out Dorothy to get a quick fix and then jumped in the shower. Today was interview day with Sydney so I had to look sharp. I want to look good enough to catch eyes but not presentable enough to actually look the part to any job interview Sage has lined up. I settle on a burgendy silk blend shirt that I know works wonders with the ladies. My hair is behaving itself today without much work needed. I look myself over in the mirror, knowing that I am not dressed appropriately for these interviews is worrying me a little bit. Not because I worry about the people interviewing me and their opinions but because Sydney is going to give me hell. I should be taking this seriously, Sage is putting in the effort so I should be to but I cannot muster any enthusiasim for whatever menial job she has lined up.

I hear Sydney's car pull up and the front door open. Before I can get to her, Sage is stopped by Clarence and he immediately starts on at her about that girl Melody who had been killed in L.A. Keith has really done a number on him, feeding into his Vampire Hunter therories. Sydney is very well raised, so she is polite but firm with Clarence. When I can hear that she is starting to feel uncomfortable, not only in the conversation but with being alone with Clarence, I decide to make my appearance.

I sick my head through the door and shoot her an amused glance.

"Ready" she asks, almost half way out the door.

"You bet, I can't wait to be a productive member of society" I answer and follow her out the door. We jump in the car and Sage reverses quickly out onto the street. She is desperate for a little space from Clarence's, now she might finally understand how it feels to be cooped up there.

Before we had left the house, I saw her eye off my outfit. At first she had a judgemental look upon her face and I knew she was biting her tongue so as not to diminish my enthusiasim. But after a moment, the judgemental look disapeared and a strange look took it's place. It was like she was seeing me for the first time, like she was drinking in my features. Our eyes met and she dropped her gaze to the ground. It had left me unsettled, questions running through my mind. She saw beyond the messy hair and clubbing shirt, she saw into my soul and god I hope she liked what she saw.

"So what's on the agenda?" I asked once we were on the road, "I really think chairman Ivashkov has a nice ring to it".

"There's an itinerary on the backseat, chairman" she joked with a smile.

I grabbed the folder and flicked through the pages. I look over the interviews for the afternoon. "You get points for variety, Sage but I don't think any of these are going to keep me in the lifestyle I'm accustomed to".

"Your resume is in the back. I did my best but we are operating with limited parameters here". She glanced over at me, slightly worried.

I could understand her concern. I had no discernable talents and have no work experience what so ever. She had really outdone herself, which I should not be suprised by. Sydney Sage was an academic and she excels at everything she does. Plus she doesn't like to lose so I am sure she has done everything she can to get me employed. I glance at the resume she has managed to pull together and laugh at loud.

"Wow, I was an educational assistant at St Vladimir's?" She had really stretched the truth on that one. The time I spent at St Vladmir's was spent messing around using spirit with Lissa. Oh and persuing Rose.

"It's the closest you had to a job" she said with a shrug.

"And Lissa was my supervisor huh? I hope she gives me a good referral" I joke. Sydney had put a lot of effort into these interviews but all of these jobs made me want to stab a pencil into my eye because it would be more entertaining. I close the folder and stare out the window, almost guilty for knowing that I was really just wasting Sage's time.

I close my eye's and think of other things. "Hows Jailbait? She seemed a bit down last time I saw her".

Sydney pauses before answering, I think she is trying to choose her words carefully. "Not good" she finally answers. She then spilt the whole truth, about some girls at school making her life miserable. Jill had retaliated with magic in front of some other students, which had caused her and Sage to argue. I could see why Sydney was upset but Jill couldn't be expected to just sit around and be bullied.

"That shower thing was hilarious" I said with a laugh, knowing it was not what Sydney wanted to hear from me.

"It was irresponsible, why can't anyone see that?" Sydney barked at me.

"But that bitch had it coming" I retorted. Jill had held out a lot longer than I could have. No one should be messing with her, and I was proud of her for fighting back.

Sydney sighed "Have you guys forgotten why your here? You of all people. You saw her die. Don't you get how important it is for her to stay safe and keep a low profile?".

That shut me up. My mind flew back to that moment when Jill was attacked and I saw the life floating out of her aura. I still had nightmares of that day. I looked over at Sydney and she could see that I understood the seriousness of the situation.

"I know, but I don't want her to be miserable either. She doesn't deserve that. Not like the rest of us". Jill was the light in a dark world and didn't ask for any of this, she deserved so much better.

"I don't think we do either" she said softly and meaning it. Sage shared Jill's naievity and goodness. She did not deserve to drown in the darkness like i did.

"Maybe you don't" I said with a small smile, "What with your pure lifestyle and all but Jill's just so innocent. It's why I saved her, you know. I mean, part of it". The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. I had not spoken about Jill's attack with anyone, I never shared how I felt when I saw her die. But in this moment, I need Sydney to know how precious Jill's life had been and how I would have even given my own to see her live a long happy life.

My words cut through Sydney like a knife, and she shivered softly, despit the desert heat. "When she died?" she almost whispered.

I nodded, knowing my emotions were written all over my face. "When I saw her there, bloody and not moving... I didn't even think about the consequences of what I was doing. I just knew I had to save her. She had to live. I acted without question, not even knowing for sure if I could do it". I had not even admited to myself about the fear I felt when trying to save Jill. I was so scared that I was not strong enough to help her or that I had killed my spirit with alcohol. If my lack of self control had hindered me returning Jill, I would never have been able to forgive myself.

Sydney processed everything and looked over at me briefly before saying "It was very brave of you". She returned her eyes to the road and didnt dare look back at me. She could see this was painful for me to speak about.

"Maybe" I conceeded. "I don't know. I do know she has gone through a lot and I don't want her to go through anymore".

"Neither do I" Sydney softly admitted. The walls she had built up were slowly cracking and I could see she is genuinely concerned for Jill's wellbeing. "I'll do what I can. I know I should talk to her more... be more of a friend or even a fake sister. It's just..." she trailed off, stopping whatever her train of thought was.

"Is it so terrible being around us?" I asked, a question I had been wanting to ask her for what seemed like an eternity.

She blushed lightly "No, but it's complicated" she said. "I've been taught things my entire life . Those are hard to shake". She was talking about the Moroi trash talking that the Alchemist's were known for. They were taught we were something to fear, something without humanity, feelings or love. They could not be more wrong about us and I think Sydney was starting to realise her schooling may have been biased.

"The greatest changes in history have come because people were able to shake off what others told them to do". The wise words left my mouth and even I was suprised at their elequence. I had not meant to seem condencending, especially considering that I was in desperate need of change in my life.

She scoffed at me, "maybe I should add motivational speaker to your resume?".

Just like that our moment of deep seriousness was over but forgotten. "If the pay's right, I'm in". I was just about to throw another jab Sydney's way when I remembered the whole Mason/Miach realisation.

"I finally placed him, that Micah guy your so worried about" I told her.

She looked confused and asked "placed him?".

"Yeah . Why he looked so familiar. Micah is a dead ringer for Mason Ashford". I looked over to see she is now even more confused. "Who?" she asked me.

"A dhampir who went to St Vladimir's. He dated Rose for a while". I should not have mentioned her name, that picqued Sydney's interest in the conversation. I scoffed and placed my cheek against the cool window of the car. "Well, in as much as anyone ever dated Rose. She was crazy for Belikov, even then. Just like she was when we dated. Don't know if Ashford ever knew or if she was able to fool him the whole time. Poor bastard". I had not meant to delve into so much emotion on Rose, but even the thought of her dredged up bad memories.

Sydney looked over at me, "Why do you say that?" and it occured to me that she did not know the end of the story.

"He died. Well he was killed, I should say. Did you not know that? A bunch of them were captured by Strigoi last year. Castille and Rose made it out. Ashford didn't". Sydney was taking all this new information in and was shocked to learn that Eddie had been with them. She was having the same realisation that I had about Castille. The incident had changed him and his behaviour made so much more sense to us both now.

Before we could talk further, we arrived at the first interview. Sydney walked in with me, to ease her mind that I was not just going to run straight out the back door I'm sure. It was for a position of an office goffer for a Law Firm. We sat in reception, along with three very unhappy looking people. To the left of us, was an average looking man, around forty with a girl about my age attatched to his arm. She is much more than average looking, she is stunning. And she is obviously the reason why the lady on the otherside of the room has such an unpleasant look on her face.

"This law firm, it specialises in divorce doesn't it?" I ask Sydney in a low voice. She nods, confirming my suspicion about the ex-couple sharing the waiting room with us. The jilted ex-wife is heartbroken, she has lost her husband, her life and her safety. Her aura reeks of sadness and I can sympathise. I know I should keep my mouth shut, that's what someone who is waiting for an interview should do.

"He was a fool, clearly" I say to the ex-wife, leaning over Sydney to speak to her. "Your a stunning, classy woman. Just wait. He'll be sorry".

Sydney's jaw all but hit's the floor, "Adrian" she exclaims. The gold digger to the otherside is unimpressed but luckily for me, the office door opens and the trio walk off, leaving me with a gob smacked Sydney Sage.

"Really? Did you have to say that?" I would think by now, Sage would no longer be suprised by my innapropriate timing with words.

"I speak my mind Sage, Don't you beleive in telling the truth?". I am goading her now, she is too easy to wind up.

"Of course I do, but there is a time and a place. Not with perfect strangers who are obviously in a bad situation" Sydney said with a huff.

"Whatever, I totally made that lady's day". I did not regret what I said, and I could sense from the older lady's aura, that she needed to hear what I had said.

The office door opened and a woman decked out in professional attire stepped out. Eyeing the two of us, she assumed she was here to meet with Sydney. Dressed in her usual Alchemist uniform, Sage was a much desirable candidate for the position. Once it was made clear that I was the one here for the interview, I stood to follow Janet into her office.

Sydney jumped up and grabed my sleeve and suddenly my whole arm tingled. It was the first time she had ever touched me and the warmth of her hand spread through my entire body. "Adrian, you want to tell the truth? Do it in there. Do not embelish or make up crazy claims that you were a district attorney".

I smiled at her softly "Got it, this will be a breeze" and I shut the door to the office. Seated across from Janet, I did my best to listen to what she was explaining but my body was still on fire from Sydney's touch. Never had I felt such electricity but yet such warmth from one person before, not even from Rose. My mind was racing when all of a sudden I was aware that Janet had asked me something and was awaitng my response.

"Mr Ivashkov, I asked what you thought was your greatest strength?" she repeated.

For all my fake bravado and charm, I seriously lacked in professional and personal confidence. I had to rack my brain for one singular thing that I did well. "Getting along well with people" was the only thing I was able to muster.

Janet made some quick notes and then asked "So what do you think is your greatness weakness?". This was an easy one, my father regularly gave me a list of these.

"Where should I start? I have terrible self control, I have a fairly serious alcohol dependancy, my mental health is worrisome, I am excrutiatingly lazy, I..." and that is where Janet cut me off.

"Mr Ivashkov, I am not sure if you are just joking or enjoy wasting my time but I think it's best that you leave now. This position is not for you but I wish you well. Good luck turning some of those weaknesses around." and with that, my first interview was over. I walked back into an empty reception, so I assume Sydney is waiting in the car. I breeze through the front door and see Sage sitting in the drivers seat, with a look of shock on her face. I slide in and cannot quite bring myself to look at her.

"I don't suppose that she gave you the job based on looks?" she asked slowly.

I flash her a huge smile, "why Sage, you sweet talker". So she was not immune to the Ivashkov charm after all.

I proceeded to tell her what had happened and I could see that she was blaming herself for having not coach me for the interview. On the drive to the next appointment, she fired off faux interview questions at me and scolded me when I messed around on the answers.

We pull up at the coffee shop and Sydney informs me she got this interview as a favour from a friend so I could not mess it up.

I walk to the backroom with the manager and take a seat. The coffee shop is anything but glamorous and the aprons the staff are forced to wear are hideous. The manager was in the middle of explaining the cleaning routines when I interupted and spoke about my avoidance to manual labour. I open the door back out into the main cafe and do the walk of shame to the car in past a steaming mad Sydney. She says nothing as she gets in the car and starts to drive. She is trying to keep her cool, so I chose not to speak and anger the beast.

The third interview she has lined up should have be perfect for me. It is for a bartender at a trendy bar, so she thought this would be my comfort zone. After ensuring I was taking this one seriously, Sydney sent me in alone. I walked in the close club and the manager that I would be interviewing with was on a phone call. I took a seat at the bar and had a look around. There is no possible way that I would be able to work in a place like this and continue to live a fairly sober existence. This place would be the death of me and Jill would live in a constant second hand hangover. The bartender setting up asked if she could get me something why I waited and without thinking I order a martini, knowing it would effectivly ruin any chance of me gettng this job.

After ten minutes I exit the club and make my way back to the car where Sydney is waiting.

"How" she demanded "how could you screw this one up?".

I could be honest and tell her that I was not strong enough to work there. I could tell her that I cared to much for Jill to put myself in such a place. I could tell her that I wanted to better myself and being around alcohol was not the way to do that. Instead I told her what she was thinking anyway. I told her I had ordered a martini and that I thought it would be fine, because it's a bar.

"No, you didn't" she exclaimed. She had almost shouted at me and it was not good. "You aren't stupid, no matter how much you pretend to be. You know you can't do that. You did it to screw around with them. You did it to screw around with me. That's what this has all been about. You haven't taken any of this seriously. You wasted these people's time and mine, just because you had nothing better to do". She was mad now, madder than I had ever made her before, which is some feat.

"That's not true" I said, knowing that had actually been my original intention for this afternoon's misadventure. But something had changed. I did want to work, or do something with my time but I want to do something I was passionate about, something that challenged me. "I do want a job.. just not these jobs".

"Your in no position to pick and choose. You want out of Clarence's? These were your tickets. You should've beeb able to have your pick of them if you had just put in a little effort. Your charming when you want to be. You could've talked yourself into a job". She started the car and tore out of the parking lot. "I'm done with this".

I hate that she is mad with me, if I had just been honest with my reasons it might have been different, but I played right into the stereotype she has of me in her mind.

"You don't understand" I said weakly, knowing the truth.

"I understand that your going through a tough time. I understand that your hurting". She was staring ahead at the road and refused to even glimpse sideways at me when she spoke. "But that doesn't give you the right to play around with other people's lives. Try taking care of your own".

She was done talking to me now and I was smart enough to keep quiet. She had never spoken to me like that before and I hated it. Why had I just not been honest with her, she would have respected my reasons but I hated the idea of Sydney knowing my deep weaknesses. I wanted to work on these things privately.

She pulled up at Clarence's and I knew I had to clear the air before she drove off. I could not stomache the idea of her leaving mad at me.

"Sage..." I said softly.

"Get Out" she said with a defeated tone of voice. I hesitated, but but nodded, knowing that any further justification would just make her angrier. I shut the car door and walked back towards the house, lighting a cigarette along the way. I had not intended this afternoon to go this way. In typical Adrian fashion, I had ruined everything with my good intentions and now Sydney was beyond mad at me. I sat on the porch and layed back staring at the sky. The sun was starting to set and the stars were lightly shinning. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, hoping that I could clear some of the guilt that was plaguing me.

After thirty minutes or so, I stood to go inside when I felt my phone vibrate. Secretly hoping it was Sydney, calling to sort things out, I was seriously dissapointed when I saw it was Eddie.

"Whatever it is, make it quick Castille. I have had an awful afternoon and I am sure your voice is not going to make it any better" I barked done the phone.

"Is Jill with you?" Eddie asked quickly, his voice full of panic.

"I just got home, why is she not with you?" I asked, running into the house, systematically checking all rooms for any sign of Jill.

"She snuck out from school and she won't return anyone's phone calls. Adrian, Jill is missing" Eddie almost whispered down the phone.

I sunk into the couch in the sitting room and almost dropped the phone. I knew Jill would sense this fear and I just hoped to god she was near enough to a phone to call me before I had a heart attack.

 **AN- THANKS AGAIN FOR READING, I WOULD REALLY LOVE SOME FEEDBACK OR SUGGESTIONS IF ANYONE HAS THE TIME :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Having hung up the phone to Castille, my first instinct was to grab the bottle and slowly descend into all of my old bad habbits. Rational thinking took over and my overwhelming need to find Jill kept me sober. I may need spirit to find her, so I had to be at my best. Lee was not in the house, so I was hoping he and Jill were off galavanting around town. I am also hoping the immense fear I was feeling right now will emminate through the bond and put the fear of god into Jill. I walked out to the front porch in desperate need of a cigarette. I sat on the top step and fought every urge to call Sydney. I know she must be just as worried as Eddie and I but I could not stomach the idea of me calling and her not picking up. I was just reaching for my third smoke when my phone lit up beside me.

"Please, please, please do not be angry with me" Jill pleaded down the phone. I am thankful she is alive but there is a good chance that Sydney might just kill her when she returns home.

"Jailbait you must have a deathwish. I think too much of my personality must be seeping into you" I joke but deep inside she had to be feeling my panic and then relief.

"I am sorry, I really am. School has just been so awful and then Lee called..."

"So Lee is to blame for this. I would not tell Castille that, he will have Lee's head on a plate" I cut her off. Jill is fifteen and always in danger, being her older boyfriend and sneaking her away from a well protected school was definately going to bite him in the ass.

"He is not to blame, I am. I convinced him that it was ok for me to leave. I just needed some freedom and Lee took me to the lake, to be near the water. Please don't be mad at him". Jill was now almost in tears and I knew any steely resolve that I had, was beginning to waiver.

"Jill if anyone understand blowing off steam, it's Adrian Ivashkov but Eddie was close to having a heart attack on the phone and Sydney's got a lot going on already so they don't need the extra drama". I had to get a little lecture in before I completely sold out.

Jill scoffed down the phone at me "Yeah Sydney has got a lot going on, no thanks to you. Not cool Adrian, you shouldn't have lied to her. She would have respected you if you had told her your reasons for not wanting those jobs. It was a mature and shows how much you have changed. Lying will not impress her". Jill was now scolding me, the tables turned pretty quickly.

"Okay okay, geeze you were the one that ran away and I am getting the talking to. Just get back to the dorm and don't give them anymore grief" I conceeded.

"I am on my way now. I am sorry for making you worry, it wasn't my intention. Good night Adrian, oh and just call her. Apologise, she needs to hear it". Jill hung up the phone and I was left staring off into the darkness.

Jill was right, I do need to apologise to Sydney but I wanted to see her face to face. I need a plan, something to not only get me out of this house but give me a purpose for my life. The last time I was even remotely close to being a productive member of society was before I met Rose. I was studying art in college and slowly making my way through all the attractive Moroi I could find. I enjoyed those art classes but did not take my time at school seriously. Living in a dorm just was not for me, except for the scantilly clas co-eds.

I always remembered hearing about the financial aid kids at my school struggling to feed themselves, choosing to buy school books over food. At the time I had an unending amount of financial aid from my father so I regularly bought Thai take out for my entire class. No one should have to live without food. How the tides have turned, now I was one of those kids who could barely afford to survive. I wonder how those kids went about getting that financial aid and if I could get me some. With this revelation, I lept to my feet and ran inside the house, desperate to start researching schools and financial assistance.

I grabbed Lee's laptop from the sitting the room and started looking for college's in the Palm Springs region. Unfortunately, most of the semesters had already begun except one, Carlton College. They had a huge selection of art courses and offered financial aid for low income students. With a quick search, I figured out I would be able to get to the school via a bus that stops fairly close by. This plan was perfect. It would get me out of the house, I would get to do something creative and I would be able to get some money together to find my own place. I contemplated picking up the phone and calling Sydney but I decided against it, I needed Sydney to see in my eye's how serious I am.

I heard Lee's car pull up so I went to the front to have a word with him, brotherly instinct took over. Lee stepped out of the car and hesitantly looked up at me. He knew he was in the wrong and I know he would have had an earful from Castille and Sydney.

"I am shocked to see you in one piece, Eddie might not be as tough as I thought he is" I joked. I was still raging inside but hitting Lee was not going to help myself or Jill.

"You have to believe me, Jill assured me that everyone was ok with me taking her out?" Lee asked me desperately, with a look of fear on his face.

"Jill likes you, so I am not going to hurt you. But you need to understand that next time you even think about sneaking away with a fifteen year old girl, the police are going to have to hold me back". I walked back inside, having gotten my point across, I exited gracefully before I lost my cool.

Walking back into my room, feeling proud of my newly acquired self control and life ambitions. As I crawled into bed, the days events played back in my mind. A new wave of guilt washed over me and after hours of tossing and turning I could not bare the thought of Sydney still being mad at me. I needed to right the situation so I decided to try visit her in a spirit dream. I have never attempted to reach a human in a dream so this might not even work.

I layed back and closed my eyes, focusing in on trying to reach Sydney. I concentrated on Clarence's sitting room and it materialised around me. The last piece of the puzzle was Sydney, and soon enough there she was, standing right in front of me.

"Huh, it worked. Wasn't sure if it would with a human" I mused.

Sydney spun around quickly, suprised by my voice and presence. "What weren't you sure about?" she asked.

I gestured around me, "If I could reach you. Bring you here into this dream". Sydney looked around the room and confusion took over her face.

"You don't know, do you?" I raised my eyebrow at her, "where you are?".

"At Clarence's" she responded, logical as ever. "Well in reality I'm in my bed. This is a dream" Sydney said with such conviction that even I almost beleived her. The idea that Sydney seemingly was not concerned about the fact she was dreaming of me brought a smile to my face.

""Your half right, this is a spirit dream. This is real" I said softly, not wanting to overwhelm her.

Sydney's face turned to a frown and her mind appeared to be racing. "This is just a regular dream" she insisted, trying to convince herself.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Look around. Concentrate. Doesn't it feel different? Like a dream... but not like a dream. Not quite like real life either. Call it what you want but the next time we see each other in the waking world, I'll be able to tell you exactly what happened here".

Sydney looked around the room, taking it all in. She closed her eyes and breathed softly. Realisation took over and Sage's eyes flew open and were instantly filled with fear. "Stop it" she cried unexpectantly.

Sydney backed away from me, "Make it end, get me out of here".

I looked over at her, genuinely shocked by her fear. "Woah Sage, calm down. Your okay". I hated seeing her so afraid and out of control.

"No, I'm not. I don't want this. I don't want the magic touching me". Sydney was in full panic mode now and I needed to stop her fear from further escalating.

"It won't hurt you, it's nothing" I assured her.

"It's wrong, Adrian stop it" she all but whispered. She had backed herself onto the wall and stared at me in fear.

I reached out to touch her, console her, when I realised that I, the magic maker, probably would not be able to ease her fear. I retracted my hand and tried to calm her with my words. "It won't hurt you, just hear me out. Then I'll dissolve it, I promise".

She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to make her as small as possible. "Okay, just hurry" she whispered.

I had her attention now and I was suddenly at a loss for words. Her terrified eyes pleading at me to hurry, "I just wanted to say..." I couldn't find the words. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and glanced around me. I looked up to meet Sydney's eyeline found the confidence to say my piece. "I wanted to... I wanted to apologise". There, I got the words out.

"For what" she asked, still paralysed in fear.

"For what I did, you were right. I wasted your time and your work today". I knew she deserved the truth but an apology was all I could offer her at this time.

"Thank-you" she accepted. She was still rigid and concerned but her body language was beginning to calm.

"I don't know why I do these things, I just can't help it". It was a pathetic excuse but she deserved more than just a sorry.

"You can take care of yourself" she said quietly. "You aren't a victim". Her words cut right through me and hit the sorest spot in my heart.

"Just like Rose" I said whilst staring straight at her. "What" she asked, her faced filled with confusion.

My heart was spiralling out of control and I conjured up one long stem red rose in my hands, much to Sydney's disgust. "She said that. That I was playing the victim. Am I really that pathetic? I wilted the rose in my hands and let the pieces fall to the ground.

"Pathetic is not the word I would use" she said, hey eyes wide after witnessing my stupid rose trick.

"What word would you use?" I asked but unsure whether I actually wanted to hear her response.

"I don't know" she said, her mind drawing a blank. She took a moment before answering "confused".

I smiled up at her, "That's an understatement".

"I'll check a dictionary when I wake up and get back to you. Can you end this now please?". She looked around her, making her fear evident.

"Your really that scared aren't you?" I asked her, astounded that something this simple could make her tremble in her boots. If she saw what else I could do with spirit, she would have herself committed. "Okay, one more thing. I thought of another way I could get out of Clarence's and get some money. I was reading about college's and financial aid. If I took some classes somewhere, do you think I could get enough to live on?" I asked her hopefully.

She looked up at me, clearly suprised. "It's possible. But I think it's too late. Classes have started everywhere".

"I found a place on the internet, Carlton. A college on the other side of town that hasn't started yet. But I'd still have to act fast, and that's what I don't know how to do. The paperwork, the procedures. But that's your specialty right?" I asked. I had rambled but I needed to prove to Sydney that I had done by research.

"Sad but true" Sydney admitted. Her face was quizical and she seemed unsure of how to process all the information I had just thrown at her.

I took a deep breath "Will you help me? I know it's making you babysit again but I don't know where to start. I promise I'll meet you halfway though. Tell me what I need to do, and I will".

She paused, thinking her response over. ""You were in college before, you dropped out". So she knew I had dropped out, this might be more difficult than I expected.

"I did" I admitted whilst nodding. There was no use lying to Sage now, honesty was going to be my only option here.

"How do I know you won't this time? How do I know you aren't just wasting my time again?" she asked, quizzing me with her eyes.

I sighed "You don't know Sage, and I don't blame you. All I can ask is that you give me another chance. that you try to believe me when I say I'll follow through. That you believe I'm serious. That you trust me". I had laid it all on the line and Sydney made me squirm whilst she thought over what I had just asked of her.

"Okay" she said "I trust you". Shock reverberated through my body. No one had ever said those words to me in my life. Those three simple words had proved to be my undoing.

"You do?" I asked slowly, unsure how she possibly could trust me. I had given her no reason to and she had no responsibility to help me.

She looked me over and gave me a half hearted smile, "I do, I'll help you". She looked around and shivered "but not here, please will you send me back. Or end this or whatever this is".

I nodded and started to let the dream fade away. I said a soft thank-you as she dissapeared into thin air. I let the dream go and opened my eyes. Someone trusts me. Not just someone, Sydney Sage admitted that she trusts me. For the first time in a long time, I fell back asleep without a worry on my mind. And it felt great.

 **AN- JUST A QUICK SHORT CHAPTER TONIGHT. HOPE EVERYONE LIKED IT :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

That night I slept better than I had in years. Knowing that I had both cleared the air with Sydney and set a plan in motion to gain my freedom gave me peace of mind. I woke in the mid morning to my phone buzzing. I looked to see Jill calling and quickly picked up.

"Jailbait please tell me your calling to tell me we are going back to court?" I asked, half jokingly. She laughed down the phone at me and it was a welcome sound.

"No unfortunately, I was calling to keep you updated on my terrible life. Sydney and I just had my disciplinary meeting with Ms Weathers and I got a month in school detention. It would have been so much worse if Sydney had not been there but we are still going to need Keith's help for me to be able to leave school for feedings". This is not what Sydney needed. Keith was already all in her business, we did not need to give him any other reason to doubt her dedication.

"Well at least they did not suspend or expell you, we all would have had a tough time explaining that to Abe. Is Sydney still angry at you?". If she was not angry with Jill, there is a good chance that I'm off the hook now to.

"She was so mad last night Adrian, so mad. I felt so bad, she does so much for all of us and I really messed up yesterday. I think she cooled down a bit overnight, but I know she was more dissapointed in you than she was in me. She thinks really highly of you Adrian, and she just expected more".

"I think I behaved exactly how she expected me to Jill, but I feel bad about it and that has never happened to me before. I spoke to her last night and asked her to help me get into some college classes. I promised her I will take this seriously and she actually believed me, can you believe that?".

"Yes, I saw the dream Adrian and she trusts you. She has a good heart and as much as she doesn't want to admit it, she cares about us, about you. Please just don't let her down again" Jill pleaded with me.

"I won't, I need this too much to mess it up again. The routine will do me some good, plus I might get to meet some good looking distractions in class".

"Okay I am hanging up now, stay out of trouble" and with that, the other end of the phone line went dead. Laughing to myself, I walked to the kitchen to help myself to a very late breakfast. Dorothy was doting around, humming a tune I could not quite place. We exchanged pleasantries and she cleared away the mess that I had been able create in such a short time. I set back to my room and sent emails away to my previous school's to see if I could have my transcripts sent to me for my Carlton application. I need to take this seriously and I need Sydney to see that I was not messing around this time. I found the Carlton course catalogue online and spent the next few hours perusing possible classes that might interest me.

I heard a car pulling up out the front, and was unpleasantly suprised to see Keith walking up the front lawn. I stayed hidden in my room but kept the door ajar, so as to complete my favourite past time, eavesdropping.

"Good afternoon Dorothy, I am here to see Clarence if he is available?" Keith asked, with fake pleasantness dripping from his voice. He had charm but I was glad I had been able to see straight through him.

"I am afraid Clarence is feeling very well today Mr Darnell, he is bed ridden unfortunately. But I am sure he will be happy to see you, perhaps it might even lift his spirits". Dorothy led Keith down the hall to Clarence's room and then shut the door behind them. I started to feel bad that I had not noticed Clarence was ill, this may have been the sort of thing Abe was talking about. He wanted me to watch and listen. I was about to send him off a quick email when my phone buzzed beside me and to my suprise, it was Sydney's name that flashed across the screen.

"Get dressed, we are going to Carlton this afternoon" Sydney exclaimed down the phone, unable to mask her excitement.

"Seriously? You are amazing, it didn't even take you twenty-four hours and you got me into college?".

"Well you are not in yet but my teacher called in a favour and got us a meeting with someone in admissions. I'm just getting changed, then I will be on my way to your place. Please dress appropriately this time" and she hung up before I could quip back.

Sydney was a miracle worker, and today I was not going to waste her time. Dressing in khaki's and a dress shirt, I knew Sage would approve today. I headed out to the porch to wait for Sydney, I was too nervous to wait inside. I decided against smoking, not wanting to reek of smoke for my interview. I sat in the shade, taking in the beautiful afternoon when a shadow moved across my vision. I looked up to see Keith's unhappy face blocking my view.

"Mr Ivashkov, hard at work as always I see" Keith said, his voice full of sarcasim. I rolled my eyes and chose not to dignify him with a response. He seemed to be making Sydney's life hell at the moment so I was sure my smart mouth wouldn't help matters. He walked away to his car and drove off into the afternoon. Less than 30 minutes later, Sage and her latte coloured car pulled up in the drive. I jumped to my feet, and almost ran to her car.

Getting in, I turned to Sydney. "You just missed your friend". I knew that Sydney would be happy to have not seen Keith but I felt she should know what her counterpart is up to.

"Who" she asked as she was pulling out into the street.

"Keith" I said, eagerly awaiting her reaction and she did not dissapoint. Her face screwed up and she insisted he wasn't actually her friend.

"Oh, you think? Most of us figured that out on day one Sage" I said, and Sydney seemed a little upset. Perhaps she felt she had come across unprofessional but we could all see Keith was an ass and she did very well not to pull all of her hair out everytime he was around.

"Wait, he was just here?" she asked. Her demeanor had changed and all of a sudden she seemed very interested in Keith's visit.

"A half hour ago" I said, confused at her sudden interest.

"What was he here for?" she demanded.

"Dunno, I think he was checking in on Clarence. The old guy hasn't been feeling real well". I pulled my cigarettes from my pocket and asked if she minded.

"Yes" she said quickly and I sighed heavily whilst dropping my smoke. "What's wrong with Clarence?".

"I don't know, but he has been resting a lot, which makes things even more boring. I mean, he wasn't the greatest conversationalist but some of his crazy stories were interesting, especially with scotch" I said with a smile.

"Keep me updated on how he is doing" Sydney muttered, her mind obviously drifting back to Keith and his unannounced visit's to Clarence's.

"I don't know how you put up with him" I said. I had continually bit my tongue about their strained relationship but now I needed to get my opinion across. "I used to think you were weak and just didn't` fight back... but now, honestly, I think you're actually pretty tough. It takes a hell of a lot of strength to not complain and lash out. I don't have that self control" I said wistfully.

Sydney's face blushed lightly and she smiled over at me. "You've got more than you think" she said, seeming suprised at my compliment. "I'm always walking a line. My dad and the Alchemist's are really big on obedience and following the directions of your superiors. I'm kind of in a double bind because I'm on shaky ground with them, so it's extra important for me not to make a fuss".

I looked over to see the seriousness in her face. "Because of Rose?" I asked cautiously.

"Yup" she nodded, "What I did was tantamount to treason in their eyes" she said knowingly.

"I don't know what tantamount means but it sounds pretty serious". I looked over to study her face, "was it worth it?".

She paused before answering. "So far, it was the right thing to do. I guess that justified dramatic actions". In the short time I had known Sage, it seemed that doing the right thing was her first priority and I respected that.

"I broke a lot of rules to help Rose too" I admitted. "I did it out of love. Misguided love but love none the less. I don't know if that's as noble as your reasons, particularly since she was in love with someone else. Most of my dramatic actions haven't been for a cause. Most of them have been to annoy my parents". I hadn't meant to delve that deep but there is something about Sydney that just opens me right up. I felt safe telling her my thoughts, just not my weaknesses.

"I think love is a noble reason. And I think you have plenty of time to do other noble things". She smiled over at me, and for a moment I actually felt like I was capable of doing noble things.

I laughed at her confidence in me, "never thought my biggest cheerleader would be someone who thought I was unnatural and evil".

She suddenly looked hesitant to ask me whatever was on her mind. After a few minutes, she worked up the nerve to ask whether I still was in love with Rose. My smile faded and I was honestly shocked by her question. Why would she want to know and why would she care? She was a friend to Rose but I had hoped that her and I could almost consider ourselves friends now too.

"Yes. No. It's hard to get over someone like that. She had a huge effect on me, both good and bad. That's hard to move past. I try not to think about her in terms of love and hate. Mostly I'm trying to get on with my life. With mixed results unfortunately".

Sydney seemed satisfied with my answer. I had not thought about Rose and my heartbreak for a little while and that suprised me. She used to be on my mind constantly, for good and bad reasons. But it seemed that the time here in Palm Springs was helping me move past the things that she had done. It felt nice to have a little clarity and closure about her. Sydney and I fell into a comfortable silence for the remainder of the trip to Carlton.

We arrived and Sydney walked with me to the admissions building. My stomach was full of nerves and I worried that I would not be Carlton material. Sydney gave me a reassuring smile and we walked into our meeting with a Mr Wes Regan.

Regan explained that applications had already closed but I could join classes as an auditor, which meant I would take the class but not earn a grade. I had to get a rush application together and if it was accepted I would get my grade post dated. I would then be eligable for financial aid. At this stage, it would still be a few months before any sort of money would be coming my way but I needed to show Sydney, Jill and mostly myself that I was serious about this.

"Okay let' get started with this auditing thing" I said, much to Sydney's suprise. I filled out the required forms and Wes pulled out the course catalogue for me to pick a few classes. I could see the jealousy corsing through Sydney's veins. She was a serious intellectual but I was well aware that Alchemist's did not get to chose to go to college. Her career choice was handed to her and her own dreams had to be tucked away.

I signed up for introductory Oil Painting and Water Colour courses, which luckily for me were back to back, three days a week. When I mentioned that I would catch the bus to class, Sydney nearly tripped right over her own feet.

"Your taking the bus?" she asked me, with a startled look on her face.

I smiled back at her astonishment, "What else. Classes are in the daytime, you can't take me".

"Where on earth would you get the bus from?" she asked.

"There's a stop about half a mile away. It transfers to another bus that goes to Carlton. The whole trip takes about an hour". I took great pleasure at the look of shock on her face. She was obviously suprised that I had put the time and effort into my research but I could see it was a pleasant suprise. We walked back to her car in silence, Sydney gazing around the campus, wishfully dreaming about spending her time here.

Once we were in the car, Jill texted to congratulate me. The drive home was quick but the mood happy. As I left the car, I could not think of the words to express my gratitude to Sydney. She gave me a soft smile and told me to start practicing my painting. She drove off and I wandered back to the house in a happy daze.

 **AN- WE ARE STARTING TO GET INTO THE FUN END OF THE BOOK NOW :) HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER, HOPEFULLY I CAN GET THE NEXT ONE UP TOMORROW NIGHT.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

I woke early the next morning, excited for the day to start as soon as possible. My classes would begin tomorrow so today I need to go into town and spend what little money I do have on supplies for class. I shower, eat quickly and start the walk to the bus stop before the the sun hits it's peak. After switching buses downtown, I get off at the stop closest to Carlton and take a quick walk around campus, planning my routes to my classes so I would not get lost or be late on my first day. After I was satisfied with my mini campus orientation tour, I found an art supplies store and splurged on all the things I might need. My bank balance was taking quite the hit but once my financial aid came through I would not need to worry. When I was done with my supplies, I stopped quickly in the campus bookshop and found the most boring text book I could find about Ancient Rome. Sydney had mentioned in passing one day about wishing she could travel to Greece or Italy to study the ancient lands, so I thought as a thank-you for her help, I would grab her a little something. Satisfied that this would bring a smile to her face I turned to head to the register when I realised that I didn't actually have the funds to get the book. Placing it back on the shelf, I walked out of the store feeling dejected. I made my way to the bus stop and vowed the second my money came through, I would be back to buy the textbook.

After arriving back at Clarence's I decided that the fairly unused sitting room would become my temporary art studio. I set up the easel and opened all the brushes. I had not felt this sort of excited energy in a very long time and it felt great. My mind was full of ideas and images, ones that I could not wait to put onto paper. I spent the afternoon sketching and testing the water colours I had bought. The evening passed by quickly and after eating a meal with Dorothy I decided to turn in early so I could be wide awake for classes tomorrow. It was odd that Clarence had not joined us for dinner. He had not been feeling the best last time I had seen him and he had been making himself very scarce lately so I decided to check in on him before I turned in for the night. Walking down the hall, I knocked lightly on the door and there was no response. Opening the door slowly, I saw the room was lit by a lamp in the corner. Clarence was tucked up in the bed but was fast asleep. The old Moroi was dealthy pale, even more so than he usually was. He was breathing softly but did not stir at my presence. His condition was worsening so I figured now was the time to keep Abe informed. Creeping out of Clarence's room, I headed in to send off an email to Abe. I was pretty unsure what to put in the email but Clarence's state worried me and if it worried me, than Abe needed to know. Satisfied that I had expressed my concerns accurately, I sent the email off and readied for bed. Closing my eyes, I tried to put the worry out of my mind and concentrate on my first day of classes tomorrow. I had a lot riding on my performance at Carlton, so I focused on calming thoughts. Before I could even count to twenty, I fell into a very deep sleep.

I almost lept out of bed in the morning when my alarm sounded. I rushed to shower as if I was late even though I had given myself plenty of time. As I was about to walk out the door, Dorothy handed me a packed lunch in a brown bag and wished me luck for my first day. The kindness this woman had just offered was more than either of my parents had when I had last headed off to college. My walk to the bus stop was quick, I could barely stop myself from a light jog. After switching buses, I arrived at Carlton with time to spare but I headed off to my introduction to water colour class early. I picked a seat down the front of the small lecture room. I wished that Sydney could see me now, early and in the front row for my first day of school. I was tempted to send her a text message but was interupted by the instructor of the class appearing. The female teacher was approximately forty years and wore so many bright colours that I almost needed to wear sunglasses to look at her. She introduced herself as Ms Samuels but requested we call her Anna. Anna proceeded to spend the next hour and a half speaking about the beauty of water colour painting and teaching us the beginner intricacies of painting with them. She was passionate, enigmatic and clearly loved inspiring young minds. Before I knew it, the lecture was over and Anna had given us our first assignment. We had to express love and hate in two seperate paintings. I walked out of the room on such a natural high that I could have convinced myself that I would never need to drink again. I had twenty minutes before my next class so I took my time with a cigarette as I wandered to the neighbouring building. My next class was not as inspiring but was still just as informative. Introduction to oil painting was taught by a messy, paint splattered guy who looked a little older than myself. He was fairly clinical in his approach to both teaching and painting but had some serious credibility to back it up. His works had been shown at galleries all around the world and he currently had an exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art in New York. I spent the lecture listening and taking notes but was thinking about my homework for my watercolours class. I jumped on the bus back to Clarence's feeling like I could take on the world. The classes had left me feeling happier than I had in a very long time.

I went straight to work when I returned to Clarence's. I set the watercolours in front of me and closed my eyes to try put images to the words love and hate. The two seemed intertwined in my mind and only one face appeared. I both loved and hated Rose. I started to lightly paint images that reminded me of her. Her brown eyes, flashes of red and brown clouds, wilting roses laying in a forrest. It felt cathartic to paint the emotions that had been playing over and over in my mind and I could feel both the love and hate I felt for Rose seeping out of me into the art works. Before I knew it, I had painted well into the night. I had missed dinner and had not sighted Clarence today. Sneaking down the hall, I peeked into the room to see Clarence in almost the same position he had been in yesterday. A little more colour had returned to his face but by not much. Closing the door quietly, I walked back down the hall to my room. I checked my phone to see that I had missed a few calls from Jill and a subsequent text message telling me not to worry. She had only been calling to let me know how proud she was of me. I smiled lightly and hoped that she had mentioned to Sydney how well today had gone. I wanted more than anything for Sage to know that I was really applying myself and would not mess up the opportunity she had gotten me. I fell into bed, exhausted both mentally and physically from the day and soon found myself in a deep slumber.

I woke around midday the next day and went straight to the sitting room to continue painting. I had neither eaten nor showered but inspiration was drawing me in and who was I to refuse it. By early afternoon my stomache was growling so loudly the neighbours might hear and my personal hygiene was a disgrace. I showered quickly and headed to the kitchen for a late lunch/ early dinner. Dorothy had set enough food for a full house but once again it was just her and I. She said that Clarence was still unwell but Keith would be arriving soon to help. The words Keith and help did not belong in the same sentence so I was automatically suspicious but kept quiet, not wanting to alert or worry the kind woman. I ate in silence and then excused myself from her company. I set up again in the sitting room and waited eagerly for Keith's appearance. He arrived by early evening and walked straight into Clarence's room, not even stopping to exchange pleasantries with Dorothy. I tried to make myself inconspicuous but in the end I just stood outside the bedroom, holding a glass to the door trying to listen to the conversation. I could hear Keith's heavy footsteps heading towards the me so I ran down the hall and slipped into the sitting room quickly. Keith stuck his head in and looked around the room. He noticed my presence and stuck his nose up in disgust. Without even acknowledging me, he walked into the room and stared at my art.

"What is this?" he asked without looking at me.

"Homework for my art class. Why? See something you like?". I was trying my best to keep my tone light but I knew this creep was up to no good. I wished I could borrow some of that Sage self control right about now.

"No, there is nothing I like in this house. I see that you seem to be going overboard on this art thing now. Swapping once addiction for another. You should go back to drinking, at least were good at that" and with that he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him. It took every fibre of my being not to chase after Keith and slap him silly but I knew it was more important for me to check in on Clarence. Once I heard Keith's car pull out of the drive, I raced down the hall and rushed into Clarence's room. If the old man had looked sick before, he could pass for dead now. He was so white that you could almost see the veins and bones through his skin. I walked closer to see that he was breathing but ever so slightly. He did not look like he had been physically harmed but there was a small trickle of blood of the side of his neck and with closer inspection I could see it had been caused by a needle. That son of a bitch Keith had been stealing his blood. I ran out of Clarence's room to find my phone to call Abe but before I could even unlock the keypad, Sydney's name flashed up on the screen.

"Adrian, I need your help. I am just finishing up with Jill in town but I will be over at the house in thirty minutes. What I need from you is not legal or ethical but I need you to trust me". Sydney pleaded down the phone at me, her voice filled with desperation.

"Sage, all you had to say was you need my help. Adding illegal and unethical just made me want to help even more so. See you soon". She hung up the phone before I could even finished my sentence. I decided to hold off calling Abe until I had spoken to Sydney. She would know what to do and she would be able to make sense of this situation. Plus with Keith involved, I did not want to cause any trouble for her with the Alchemist's.

I was on my fourth cigarette when Sydney's car pulled up in the drive and I raced to the door to meet her. "Wow" she exclaimed "I didn't expect you you to be ready so quickly".

"I'm not, I need you to see something right now" I told her. She frowned back at me, obviously not wanting to delay whatever she had planned. "Okay" she said slowly "are you sure this can't wait? This thing we've got to do this kind of urgent...".

"So is this" I spat back, guiding her down the hall to Clarence's room. It was further than Sage had ventured into the house before and I could see her obvious discomfort. "How did Clarence seem last time you saw him?" I asked, wanting her to be prepared for what she was about to see. "Weird" she said instantly.

"But health wise?" I implored.

She stopped to think, "Well I know he's been tired but usually he seems okay".

"Yeah well he's not okay now" I said. "It's gone beyond just tired. He's weak, dizzy and confined to his bed". I stopped just before the door and frowned, hoping to god she had no idea what Keith was up to.

"Do you know what caused it?" she asked, her face filled with concern and worry. Any thought that she was connected to this immediately left my mind. She was in the dark and free from whatever sinister plan Keith was involved in.

"I have a pretty good idea, your boy Keith" I growled at her.

"Stop saying stuff like that, he's not my boy. He's ruining my life" she exclaimed, not wanting any sort of connection to Keith.

I opened the door and she followed me inside the ornate bedroom. She gasped on seeing Clarence's state and glanced to me for an explanation.

"Not just your's" I said, pointing to Clarence. His condition was unchanged since I had been in here last although he seemed even more pale if that was possible. Sydney's eyes went wide when she noticed the medical needle mark on the side of Clarence's neck and she gulped heavily.

"Well Sage, do you have any idea why Keith would be draining Clarence's blood?" I asked, looking over at her scared expression.

She was silent for a moment before she looked to meet my eyes, "yes" she said in a small voice. "I have a very good idea".

 **AN- HOPE EVERYONE IS STILL ENJOYING. IM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS, HOPE YOU GUYS ARE TOO :)**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Sydney was quick to regain her composure and moved in to try ease Clarence's nerves. He was on edge and us questioning him was not really encouragement to talk. He swore up and down that he had cut his neck shaving but we knew better.

"Mr Donahue" Sydney said softly "this was made by a surgical tool. And it didn't happen until Keith visited". Sage was attempting to play good cop with the old man but he still denied it had anything to do with Keith. At that moment Dorothy walked into the room with a tray of fresh orange juice to replenish Clarence's blood sugar levels. Dorothy was clearly concerned for Clarence's wellbeing and was now doting over the ailing Moroi.

Sydney decided to change her investigating technique. "Tell us what your deal is?" Sydney almost begged. "What's the arrangement? What's he giving you for your blood? People are being hurt, he's giving out your blood indescriminately". Sage pandered to Clarence's ethical side and the old Moroi looked up at her with a shocked expression on his face.

"No. He was using my blood and saliva to heal people. To heal sick people". Clarence defended Keith but it was evident now he was starting to doubt what he had been told. Sydney and I exchanged knowing glances. The saliva explained the addictive high the tattoos offered.

"He lied, he is selling it to rich teenagers to help them with sports. What did he promise you for it? A cut of the money?" Sydney asked. I looked around the room and and noted that Clarence was not in any need of money. It then occured to me that Keith had promised Clarence something that even the guardians could not provide, information about his niece Tamara's murder.

Sydney seemed shocked that I had come to the conclusion before she had but the look on Clarence's face confirmed my suspicions. "He.. he's been investigating the vampire hunters for me. He say's he's close, close to finding them". Clarence's voice was full of desperation and I could see it was breaking Sydney's heart that he had been fooled so cruely.

"Sir, I guarentee the only thing he is investigating is how to spend the money he has been making" Sydney told the old man softly. It was clear that Clarence had been strung along by Keith and the realisation was now setting in with the elder Moroi. He mumbled softly about Keith promising to help find infortmation. Sydney was now getting frustrated and could listen no more. She requested that Dorothy prepare Clarence some real food then stalked out of the room quickly. I followed her down the hall but before I could stop her she entered the sitting room where my temporary art studio is set up.

Sydney was too caught up in the huge bombshell that we had just uncovered to notice my art at first. "Well there are good and bad sides to this. At least we can be confident that he has a fresh supply of blood for us to bust him with. I'm just sorry Clarence had to get so..." she trailed off once she had clued in to all of my homework around her. Her eyes gazed over all the paintings, stopping to take them each in. "What is this?" she asked, looking back at me.

"Homework" I answered back. I entered the room behind her and hesitated to meet her eyeline. Every feeling and emotion I had felt in the last six months was layed out in front of her in art form, waiting to be judged.

"Didn't you just start your classes? How could they assign this much?" she looked back at the painting, trying to see if she could make sense of the various paintings placed around the room. I walked over to one of the paintings, it was a swirling red and black cloud. Rose's aura was a glowing red. Red represented a firey soul, one that would do anything to protect loved ones. Red also represented deep and passionate love. The black in the painting showed the darkness that had tinted Rose's aura when I first met her. She had been drawing the darkness from Lissa's spirit and she had a permanent black cloud around her. The black cloud continued to grow and as it did, the spirits hold on Rose's mind increased. The painting represented what my first impression of Rose's aura had been when we first met. It had been a while since I had thought of that first night, out on the patio of that ski resort.

"Of course they didn't give us this much Sage. But I had to make sure I nailed my first assignment. Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection" I said with a laugh. "Well except for my parents, they got it on the first try" I joked and she rewarded me with a genuine smile.

"Well this is kind of amazing" she admitted. "What are they? I mean, I get that one" she said, pointing to one of a woman's eye, brown and long lashed and to another piece that was red roses. "But the others are open to, um, slightly more creative interpretation".

She was pointing to the one that was covered in a smokey black ash with flashes of red. This was my most recent interpretation of love. A love that had been, and is no longer. The red flash was the fleeting love, the black smoke was raising from the burning embers. "Are they?" I asked her, "I figured it was obvious. This one is love, don't you see it?.

She looked deeply at the painting again, her face lightly frowning. "Maybe I don't have an artistic enough mind" she mused. Sage had the strongest yellow aura I had ever seen, one that only the most analytical intellects possessed. She hated not understanding art. I wished I had the time to explain to her that art was less about understanding and was more about feelings and emotions but this situation with Keith was time sensitive.

"Maybe. Once we bust your friend Keith, we'll discuss my genius art all you want" I said to her, slightly dissapointed I had to be the one to drag her away from my art.

"Right" she said, her attention turned back to me and her face serious again. "We need to search his place for evidence. I figure the best way to do that is if I lure him out and you break in while he's gone. To get through the lock..".

"I can pick a lock" I said, cutting her off. "How do you think I got into my parents liquor cabinet when I was in middle school?". She rolled her eyes at me and remembered who she was talking to.

"Should've guess" she said dryly. "Make sure you look everywhere, not just in obvious places. He could have compartments hidden in the walls or in the furniture. You want to find vials of blood or metallic liquids or even the tool that pierced Clarence".

"Got it" I said quickly, and Sage proceeded to hash out any other details that we would need. She gave me the phone number to her immediate supervisor Stanton, who I was to call in case I found something. Everything was now set, but there was one question troubling me. "Sage, why'd you pick me to be your partner in crime in this?".

She thought about it for a moment before answering. "Process of elimination I guess. Jill's supposed to be keeping out of trouble. Eddie'd be a good asset but he needed to go back with her and Lee. And, besides I already knew you didn't have any moral qualms about breaking and entering" she said with a shy smile.

I could not help but grin. "That's the nicest thing you have ever said to me" and with that we left to head over to Keith's. The drive over was silent, both of us preparing for what we needed to do tonight. Sydney pulled up outside his building and we saw that all the lights were on, meaning he was at home. Sage would head to the otherside of town, luring Keith further away so I had more time to search.

I was just about to get out of the car when I stopped and looked back at Sydney. I wanted to tell her to be careful, I wanted to tell her not to meet him. We knew he was bad news but here I was allowing her to go off and be alone with him. I knew nothing I could say would stop Sydney from going ahead with the plan, so my words would be futile. She met my eyeline and for a moment in time, we just connected. She shared my concerns and was just as scared as I was. With that I jumped out of the car and made my way to wait in the shadows for Keith to leave the building.

After about twenty-five minutes, the lights in the appartment went off and Keith rushed out the door, stopping to lock it before running down the stairs to his car. I waited until about ten minutes after he pulled out of the car park , not wanting to be caught red handed just because he had left something behind. I tried to walk up to the apartment as inconspicuously as possible, and made quick work of the amature lock of the door. Walking into the apartment, I found a small lamp beside the television, not wanting to place the overhead lights on and alert anyone. Keith was obviously profiting greatly from selling Clarence's blood because the apartment was very well decorated. There was a television on the wall that was as wide as I am tall. Facing it was a black, overstuffed leather recliner that I am sure cost more than what an Alchemist would make in a year. I moved swiftly around the room, looking in all the obvious places. Making my way into the bedroom, it was obvious Keith did his best to keep this place as neat as possible. There was not a single thing out of place, the room was imaculate. I searched through his drawers and closet, supressing a laugh when finding a box of condoms, without a single one having been used. I was about to make my way to the kitchen when I noticed a piece of tacky artwork in the living room. It was a naked woman's back, and a very badly painted one at that. It seemed out of place and an odd choice to have hanging. I walked over to the painting and was pleased to see that it easily came off the wall. To my suprise, hiding behind it was a wooden door that was clearly not meant to be found by anyone. It had a padlock on it which was just as easy to break as the one on the front door. Once I was in the cabinet, it took me all of about two seconds to find exactly what we needed. There lay a few vials of blood, most probably Clarence's. Alongside of it was a few packets of silver powder and some surgical tools. I quickly grabbed my phone and called Stanton.

"Stanton here" a gruff female voice came down the phone at me.

"Ms Stanton, you do not know me but my name is Adrian Ivashkov and I am in Palm Springs accompanying Jill Dragomir". I paused, needing to see her reaction to my phone call.

"Mr Ivashkov, I hope everything is well out west? Is there something I can help you with this evening?". Stanton was polite but professional. I was beginning to wonder whether all the Alchemist's were sent to school to learn their social graces.

"I certainly do need your help. Recently Clarence Donahue has been unwell and I caught Keith Darnell extracting blood from him. When I approached Clarence he confirmed that Keith had promised to help him find information on his niece's death in return for his blood. I broke into Keith's tonight and have found the blood. Turns out he is selling it to a local tattoo shop who are injecting it in kid's at the school that Sydney and Jill attend. Sydney broke in there and found all sorts of alchemist chemicals and vampire blood. Basically, I need you guys to get here before Keith comes back, Sydney has lured him out so I don't know how far away he is". There was a pause down the end of the line, Stanton was slowly taking in all of the information.

"Mr Ivashkov, this is a very grave accusation. You do understand that if we find a logical explanation to this, both yourself and Miss Sage will be in a world of trouble for the numerous break and enter's you have just admitted to commiting?". Stanton was direct and did not mince her words.

"I would lay my life on the line that you will find Keith guilty of everything we have accused him of. How quick can your people be here? Sydney may well be in danger, who know's what Keith will do to protect his secret?" I said, knowing that the Alchemist's lived to protect their own.

"I can have someone there in one hour, I will call the Alchemist's from Los Angeles and have them there as soon as possible. Mr Ivashkov please keep yourself safe and try to stay out of trouble until my people arrive". With that she hung up the phone and I was left standing in the empty apartment, wishing time away.

I sent Sydney a quick text letting her know that we had found what we needed and help was an hour away. I sat in the living room, surveying the apartment. Keith was living a life of luxury here. For the first time in my life I was being the good guy and was stuck in a retirement hall of purgatory. Keith on the other hand was the devil incarnet and had everything he could desire.

I raided Keith's kitchen cabinets and found he had quite the sweet tooth. Opening a bag of chewing candy, I paced around the room desperate for time to pass. I grabbed my cigarettes from my pocket and decided that since Keith would probably not be needing his house anymore, there was no reason for me not to smoke inside. After my third cigarette, I saw headlights iluminate the car park and I rushed to the window, worried that Keith had returned already. To my relief a black SUV had pulled up and three men dressed in suits exited the car. I rushed to open the front door and invite the Alchemist's in.

"Mr Ivashkov, I am Louis, these are my collegues Roberts and Lane. We were informed that you have proof that Keith Darnell has been stealing blood from a local Moroi and selling it for personal profit. These are very serious accusations, so we need to see concrete proof of this otherwise we have no choice but to report this back to your superiors at court". The look on the face of this Alchemist's was serious and I could tell just being in my presence was making him uncomfortable.

"Louis, may I present to you what those in the legal business like to call, a smoking gun" I gestured to the hidden cabinet in the wall and the stolen blood. All three Alchemist's gasped in shock, one of which immediately grabbed his cell phone and started making phone calls. I lent against the wall and lit myself another cigarette. Roberts, the second Alchemist starting to question me, writing every word I said down in a notepad similar to one I had seen Sydney use before.

As I was answering the questions, the door flew open and a suprised Keith Darnell entered the room, his face full of fear. Sydney walked into the room no less than thirty seconds after Keith and looked to me immediately. We shared a smile and I could see the weight of the world lift off her shoulders.

Louis the Alchemist looked up to see Keith enter the room. "Ah, so glad your here, Mr Darnell. We were hoping we could take you with us for some questioning".

Keith's face fell and he looked around the room knowing that even trying to escape would be impossible. Instead of anger, a look of fear was plastered all over his face. Sydney looked to me, appreciation and relief radiated from her. We had pulled this plan off perfectly, you might just say that we were the perfect team.

 **AN- I HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THIS ONE. I TOOK A FEW LIBERTIES WITH ADRIANS ART BUT I HOPE I EXPLAINED THE PAINTINGS IN A WAY THAT REPRESENTED ADRIAN WELL. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REVIEW :)**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The next few days passed uneventfully. Keith had been shipped off to where ever it is that they send misbehaving Alchemist's and his name had become something we just did not mention. I kept going to class and threw myself further into my Love/Hate project. When I finally felt it was perfect, I submitted it to Anna for grading. Feeling pretty happy with myself, I decided that a post class celebratory drink was in order. I was almost out of the room when Anna called me to attention and said that she had been told that I was needed in the registrar's office. I assumed my enrollment had been approved, so I headed down to meet with Wes Reagan.

"Mr Ivashkov, great to see you. I just have a few forms I need a signature on to finish the auditing process" he said when I arrived. Auditing process? I had submitted my application for enrollment in the college and assumed that it had been successful.

"Mr Reagan, I am a little confused. I thought that my application to be a student would have been approved by now?" I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check.

"Your sister did not tell you?" Wes asked, now just as genuinely confused as I was.

"Tell me what?" I demanded. Sydney had been in contact with Wes and obviously had not found it important enough to inform me.

"We are not going to be able to retroactively admit you to classes. We just missed the cut off date and there was no wiggle room. Now, I can admit you for next semester and you are more than welcome to continue auditing the classes this semester. Sydney seemed to think that you were more than happy to continue taking the courses, she even dropped off a cheque for the auditing fee's the other day. I am sorry she did not communicate that with you, I am sure she had your best interests at heart though". Wes was genuinely apologetic and encouraged me to keep taking the classes. I assured him that I would still be attending and would be appreciative that any further contact in regards to my schooling went through me and not Sydney.

I walked out of the office feeling positively emascualted. Sydney had gone behind my back and had purposed hidden this from me. Did she think so little of me that I would just drop out of the course the second I realised I would not be entitled to financial aid. I had given her my word and asked her to trust me and she had just assumed that my word meant nothing. I was so close to walking into the liquor store and drinking the afternoon away when I remembered Jill had her modeling debut tonight and I am sure her lack of co-ordination and balance did not need any of my help. I shuffled onto the bus, playing over the conversation in my mind that I wanted to have with Sydney this evening. She told me she trusted me and believed in me but in reality she was no better than my parents.

I returned to Clarence's and threw my book bag down in anger. I stormed into the kitchen where I found Dorothy cleaning as per usual. She asked if I needed her to make me something to eat. I mumbled under my breath that I did not. I grabbed some leftover's from the fridge and turned to sulk in my room. Before I could begin to spiral, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I should not have been suprised to find it was Jill calling.

"Sydney is nothing like your parents. You know she did what she did because she wanted you to stay in the classes. She can see that your motivated and exited and I am sure she just did not want to diminish that" Jill said patiently down the phone at me.

"Jill, now is not the time that I need you to justify everyones actions. I am mad right, so I need you to just let me wallow. I am not drinking and I am not out of control, I just want to feel my emotions on my own please" I pleaded with her.

"Fine, you are still coming tonight right?" she asked me, her voiced waivering on the other end of the line.

"You know I would not miss it. Lee and I are driving over together. Break a leg Jailbait" and I hung up the phone before she could say anything further. I spent the next few hours puffing down cigarettes and listening to Pink Floyd before Lee knocked on my door and said we would be leaving in thrity minutes. I showered quickly and dressed in some of the nicer clothes I had been able to bring with me on such short notice. The drive downtown was a silent one, it seemed that Lee's mind was just as distracted as mine. The fashion show was being held in a huge auditorium and was packed full of people. Attractive girls were circling with trays of champagne but I resisted all of them. Our tickets said front row and I looked up to see Sydney's golden hair shinning on the left side of the runway.

Seeing her filled me with sadness, it drove me wild to think that she had assumed I would revert back to my old habbits. I told myself that I would act civil this evening and not start anything on Jill's big night but as I made my way to our seats, I could see an extremely tall, good looking guy leaning down beside her and making her laugh. They seemed to be sharing a personal joke and Sydney's face was lit up in a smile. I was suddenly full of anger and my face did not disguise this. The male model seemed to be a bit intimidated by my presence and excused himself from Sage. I took my seat and ignored Castille's attempts at a greeting. I was in no mood to be polite, so I just sat staring straight ahead, hoping that this fashion show would be entertaining enough to keep my attention. The lights went down and the show begun. The whole event was a very professional and trendy affair and inside I was beaming with pride that Jill was involved. Her designer would be third up, so I would have endure this show for a little longer than I had hoped.

Finally the designer Jill would be walking for was up. The music turned to an eery tune and the stage had a light layer of fog. Jill was the third model onto the stage and she blew everyone away. She was dressed in a flowing, silver gown and her face was partially covered by a half mask decorated in pearls. She walked down the stage without incident and the crowd appreciated her beauty just as much as we did. I could not have been more proud and I looked to see that Eddie, Lee and Micah agreed. I could see Sydney watching me but I refused to meet her eyeline. Jill walked the catwalk twice more, in outfits that were subpar to her entry outfit. The show ended shortly after and we were all invited to the short after party. We were standing around waiting for Jill, when I looked over to see Sydney watching me again. She obviously knew something was wrong but was treading lightly, not wanting to cause a scene. I tried so hard to keep my composure but I could not hold my tongue any longer.

"When were you going to tell me?" my earlier anger and sadness filled my voice.

"Tell you what?" she asked, seemingly pleading ignorance.

"That the financial aid isn't going to come through. I talked to the registrars office and they said you knew" I spat at her. I should not have opened with the money talk but I was lost for words. I wanted to tell her that she had hurt me. She had not trusted that I would keep my word and stick with the classes. But instead I came out with the worlds most shallow argument I could come across. I still pictured that good looking guy leaning towards her, jealousy coursing through my veins. She was at ease and happy chatting with that guy but was always so structured and professional around us. She obviously still viewed us all as monsters.

Sydney sighed. "I wasn't keeping it from you, exactly. I just didn't have a chance to tell you yet. There were kind of a lot of other things going on" she said, suprised at my level of anger.

"You aparently had enough time to pay the auditing fee and enough money but not enough to find me new lodging". Well done Adrian, another shallow, whiney argument. I had been so elequent in my mind earlier today. I had practiced what I wanted to say to Sydney but now in the heat of the moment I sounded like the spoilt rich kid that I am.

"A one time payment was easy to slip in. Month to month rent? Not so much". She was right and I knew it but my emotions were taking over now and I could no longer find any form of reasonable argument.

"Then why bother at all?" I exclaimed. "The whole point of this was to get me the money to get out of Clarence's!. I wouldn't be taking these stupid classes otherwise. Do you think I want to take the bus for hours everyday?". I was now just blantantly lying. I loved taking those classes but my anger was out of control.

"Those classes are good for you" she countered. She sounded just like my mother did, everytime I was kicked out of another school or another class. She was acting uncaring and professional, just as you would expect the good little Alchemist to behave.

"Good for me?" I scowled. "Come on, stop being my mum again. It isn't your job to tell me how to live my life. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it". I had snapped and was now almost shouting.

I had made her mad now. She put her hands on her hips and leaned into me. "Right, it's not my job to tell you how to live your life- just my job to make it as easy as possible for you. Because god knows you can't suffer through anything thats a little inconvenient. What happened to all those things you told me? About being serious about improving your life? When you asked me to believe in you?". Maybe I had been wrong? Maybe her heart had been in the right place and she had not doubted me.

"Come on you guys, this isn't the time or the place" Eddie said uneasily.

I ignored him, I had come to far now to back down. "You have no problem making Jill's life as easy as possible". God had those words actually come out of my mouth?. I was behaving so petty and was so embarressed but my emotions were in overdrive and I am guessing spirit was to blame.

"That's my job" she growled back at me. "And she is still a girl. I wouldn't think an adult like you would need taking care of in the same way?". She was now glaring at me with such anger that I almost backed down. Over her shoulder I could see Jill making her way over to us. She was dressed in the silver gown again and was beaming from ear to ear but had sensed a situation arising. By the time she had mad her way to Sydney's side, her face was filled with concern.

"What's happening?" Jill asked, glancing between Sydney and myself. She obviously had not viewed the argument through the bond but was feeling my anger now.

"Nothing" Sage muttered, as if the anger she had just expressed could easily be forgotten.

"Well, it depends how you define nothing. I mean if you consider lying and ..." but I was cut off before I could dig my hole even deeper.

"Stop it" Sydney cried. Some people standing nearby had noticed our interaction and were walking away smirking. "Just stop it Adrian. Can you please not ruin this for her. Can't you just for one night pretend there are other people in the world who matter besides you?". Sydney had struck a nerve. Did she honestly think I was that selfish. I had risked my life to bring Jill back to life. I packed my things and moved half way across the country and now lived in hell, all for Jill. My whole life was centered around Jill and Sage actually had the nerve to accuse me of being selfish.

"Ruin it for her?" I exclaimed. "How the hell can you say that? You know what I've done for her. I've done everything for her. I've given up everything for her!". Jill's face was heartbreaking, she hated having us argue on her behalf.

"Really? Because from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like..." Sage cut herself off when she also noticed Jill's face. She realised how our stupid bickering had ruined the night and was taking away from Jill's moment.

"I'm leaving" Sage said quickly. She turned to Jill and plastered a fake smile across her face. "You were amazing tonight, really".

"Sydney -"

"It's okay" Sydney told Jill. She offered her a kind, genuine smile. "I've got things to do. I need to go clean up the stuff Keith left behind". She looked to Micah and Lee "Can you get her and Eddie back to Amberwood?". I noticed she made no mention of getting me home safely.

"Of course" Lee and Micah said in unison. Lee frowned instantly, "Why do you need to clean up Keith's stuff?".

"Long story" Sydney muttered. The story of Keith's wrong doings obviously had not made it to Lee just yet. "Let's just say that he left town and wont be coming back anytime soon. Maybe never". Lee looked disturbed by this new information and I realised I did not even notice the two were close.

Jill still looked upset. "I thought we were all going to go out and celebrate?" she asked Sydney softly.

"You can if you want to. As long as Eddie is with you, I don't care". Sydney reached awkwardly to Jill, obviously tempted to hug her but reason took over. She placed her hands on Jill's shoulders and told her again how breathtaking she had been. Without saying goodbye, she turned and rushed out the door quickly, leaving me staring after her. I knew I should follow her and apologise. I also knew I should tell her the real reason I had been upset but I had made such a fool of myself that I could not go crawling back to her so soon.

Lee and Micah were making such a fuss of Jill, that Sydney's and my argument was long forgotten. I stopped a nearby waitress and grabed two glasses of the cheap champagne and downed them quickly. They took a bit of the edge off the guilt I was feeling. The small after party continued for another half an hour and then Eddie announced that they were all going for dinner to celebrate Jill. I knew I needed to go make things right with Sydney otherwise I would be in for a sleepless night. She had gone above and beyond for me on several occasisions and I had behaved like a petulant child tonight. I excused myself from the group, explaining I would get a bus home to Clarence's to work on an assignment for class.

I walked away from the auditorium and saw a bus stop a little further down the street. I would be able to get a bus direct to a stop just around the corner from Keith's place. I sat in the shelter, wishing I had grabbed another couple of glasses of champagne for some liquid courage. I had never had trouble speaking my mind to anyone before but there was something about Sydney that made all my reason and logic go out the window. It was as if I was worried to admit weakness to her. The bus pulled up in front of me and I almost decided against getting on board.

Twenty minutes later I was standing in front of Keith's door. The lights were on, so I knew Sydney was inside. I also had noticed Latte in the carpark. I knocked loudly and was met with silence.

I knocked again, "Sage, I know your there. I saw your car. I know your pissed off but just listen to me" I called through the door but again was met with silence. I was just about to give up and turn away when I heard Sydney shout my name with such fear in her voice that my world almost shattered.

 **AN- I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER. HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED THIS ONE :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

My heart was in my throat. I reached for the door, praying it was unlocked. It flung open and to my suprise Lee had Sydney pinned on the ground. He had a knife on her arm, which had been cut and was bleeding profusely. I was frozen in fear and surveyed possible weapons around the room to protect myself and Sydney with.

"Don't come any closer" Lee shouted, moving the knife to Sydney's neck. "Shut the door. Then sit down, and put your hands behind your back. I'll kill her if you don't". Lee looked up at me with a wild expression on his face. His actions were desperate and I did not doubt for a second that he would kill Sage if given the opportunity.

"He's going to do it anyway - ahh" Sydney was cut off by Lee pressing the knife tighter against her neck, causing a light trickle of blood to run down her throat.

"Okay, okay" I said softly, holding my hands up in the air. I settled in on the ground and placed my hands behind my head. "Lee, I don't know what your doing but you need to stop it now before it goes any further. You don't have a gun. You can't really hold us both here under the threat of a knife". I tried to reason with him but Lee's crazy eyes were glazed over.

"It worked before" Lee shouted. So this was not an isolated attack. He kept the knife pressed against Sydney whilst he reached through his coat. He found a pair of handcuffs and slid them over to me. "Put these on" he insisted. When I did move instantly he moved the knife closer to Sydney and she flinched in pain. "Now" he shouted and I did as he said.

"I'd meant them for her but you coming by might be a good thing. I'll probably be hungry when I've been reawakened" Lee mused.

"Reawakened?" I questioned whilst raising my eyebrow.

"He used to be strigoi. He's been killing girls, slitting their throats , to try to become one again" Sydney was able to say before Lee snapped at her to be quiet.

"Why would you cut their throat's? You have fangs" I said, stating the obvious.

"Because it didn't work. I did use my fangs. I drank from them..but it didn't work. I didn't reawaken again. So then I had to cover my trail. The guardian's can tell you know. Moroi and Strigoi bites. I needed the knife to to subdue them anyway, so then I cut their necks to hide the trail. Make them think the Strigoi was crazy. Or a vampire hunter" he said with almost a laugh.

I sat there taking in everything that he had said. If the others had not awakened him, why would he think Sage's blood would work. "If the others didn't work, the Sydney won't either".

"She has to" Lee said, as if trying to convince himself. "Her blood's special. I know it is. And if it doesn't... I'll get help. I'll get help reawakening, and then I'll awaken Jill so we can be together". Be together? Over my dead body.

"Jill? Don't hurt her. Don't even touch her" I shouted at him, whilst jumping to my feet.

"Sit down" Lee barked at me and I listened. Sydney was now pinned beneath him and her life was in my hands rights now. "I wouldn't hurt her. I love her. That's why I'm going to make sure she stays exactly the way she is. Forever. I'll awaken her after I have reawakened".

I sat in silence, my heart breaking at the thought of Jill being turned against her will and spending her days as a Strigoi monster.

"Lee" Sydney said softly, "It didn't work with the other girls. I don't think the fact that I'm an Alchemist matters. Whatever the spirit user did to save you... you can't go back now. It doesn't matter whose blood you drink". Sydney was trying to use logic to reason with Lee. Even with a knife to her throat, Sage was able to think more rationally than I ever could.

"He didn't save me" Lee roared. "He ruined my life. I've been trying to get it back for six years. I was almost ready for the last resort until you and Keith came along. And I've still got that last option left. I don't want it to come to that though. For all of our sakes" he said earnestly.

I realised now was my time to shine. If I could get Lee to make eye contact with me, I would be able to compell him to free Sydney. "This is a mistake. Look at me and tell me you want to do this to her" I pleaded with him.

I don't think Lee was aware of what I was trying to do but he was not playing ball. His attention was centered on the cut on Sydney's upper arm. "I made my decision a long time ago" he said wistfully. He touched his fingertips to Sydney's bleeding arm and dabbed them in the fresh cut. He then lifted them to his lips and tasted her blood. Under a normal circumstance, Sydney should have been convulsing in disgust but her fear was overiding her natural responses right now.

Lee's closed eyes shot open and his face screwed up in disgust. "No" he gasped, "There's something... there's something wrong" he whispered. He leant down and put his face close to Sage's bleeding neck. I wanted more than anything to kick this guy's ass right now but I needed to ensure that Sydney was out of that knife's reach first. He licked at the wound, like a perverse kiss and backed away from Sydney's neck so fast it shocked her.

"What's wrong with you?" he whispered. "What's wrong with your blood? I can't do it. I can't stomach any of it. Why?" he demanded at Sydney but we were both at a loss. Feeling that Sydney was safe for a least one moment, we exchanged a glance, hoping we would be able to make a break for it.

Lee suprised us both by pulling out his cell phone and dialing quickly. He kept the knife to Sage's neck so she would not be tempted to try escape. "Dawn? It's Lee. Yes. Yes I know. Well, I have two for you, ready and waiting. A Moroi and an Alchemist. No- not the old man. Yes. Yes, still alive. It has to be tonight, they know about me. You can have them... but you know the deal. You know what I want... yes. Uh-huh. Okay". Lee rattled off the address of Keith's appartment to whoever he was on the phone to and then disconnected.

"We're lucky" he said with a smile. "There east of L.A. so it won't take them that long to get here- especially since they don't care much about speed limits".

"Who are they?" I asked cautiously. "I remember you calling some Dawn lady back in L.A. I thought she was one of your hot college friends?".

"There the makers of destiny" Lee says dreamily.

"How delightfully enigmatic and nonsensical" I muttered to myself.

Lee glared over at me and studied me carefully. "Take off your tie" he demanded of me. Every fiber of my being resisted a sarcastic comment, knowing Sydney's delicate neck was at stake. My hands were cuffed in front of me, so it took some strange maneuvers to remove the tie from around my neck.

I tossed it over to him and told him to be careful because it's silk. It was also a gift from my Aunt Tatiana, so Lee was giving me even more reason to dislike him.

Lee moved Sydney over to her stomach and tied her hands tightly behind her back. He removed the knife from her neck and Sydney automatically tested to see if she could break free but Lee had obviously been practicing his knotting. She was unsuccessful and she sat up with a look of dismay on her face. Her arm was still bleeding profusely and I longed to heal her.

I continued peering over at Lee to see if I could make eye contact and compell him to stop this. Sydney was struggling to sit up right. "How did you even get here?" she asked, her voice full of dispair.

"Same way I get everywhere Sage, the bus" I said, shooting her a sly glance. This situation was dire but I needed her to know that we were okay with each other.

"Why" she asked. I know she wanted to know why I came here but I decided to keep things light. "Because I don't have a car" I said with a smile.

"Adrian" she said with an exasperated sigh.

I shrugged and returned my attention to see if I could capture Lee's eyeline, even though my words were directed to her. "To apologise. Because I was a total asshole to you at Jailbait's show. Not long after you left, I knew I had to come find you". I looked around at our dire situation, "I guess no good deed goes unpunished".

"It's okay. You weren't... um, that bad" she said, in the most unconvincing voice I had ever heard.

I could not help but let a small smile pass over my lips. "You're a terrible liar Sage. I'm still touched you'd attempt for my sake. A for effort".

"Yeah, well, what happened back there seems kind of small, in light of the current situation. It's easy to forgive" she admitted. We exchanged a small smile and Lee suddenly whipped his head around, obviously having been listening to our exchange.

"Do the others know you are here?" he asked me loudly.

"No, I said I was going back to Clarence's" I admitted, feeling stupid for not letting them in on my plan. I just hoped to god that Jill was witnessing everything that was happening right now through the bond. Sydney had obviously just clued into the fact that Jill might be on her way with help now and we shared a glance of relief.

"Whose coming Lee? Who did you call?" Sydney asked tentatively. Lee did not respond and Sydney suddenly put two and two together. "Strigoi, you have Strigoi coming?" she almost shouted. I had figured it out earlier but prayed that she would not. It was both of our worst nightmares and it looked like it might be real life tonight.

Lee was mumbling about it being the only way, whilst tossing the knife between his two hands. I took a moment to close my eye's and see if I could reach anyone via a spirit dream. Neither Jill or Eddie were asleep so I could not reach them. I even fought against all my instincts to see if I could reach Rose or Dimitri but they were both on Vampiric schedules so they were wide awake. When I came back to attention Sydney was still trying to reason with Lee.

"But it's not worth it" she said with desperation. "It's not worth the cost of killing innocents and endagering your soul". Sydney's Alchemist training and her faith in god was extremely naieve and I felt for her in this moment. Not everyone cared about their soul nor did they live by a moral code of belief.

"Isn't it Sydney? How would you know? You've deprived yourself of enjoyment for most of your life. Your aloof from others. You never let yourself be selfish, and look where it's got you. Your "morals" have left you with a short, strict life. Can you tell me now, just before your about to die, that you don't wish you'd maybe allowed yourself a little more fun?" he implored of her.

Lee had obviously struck a chord with Sydney and she tried her hardest to argue back but it was obvious that she was thinking heavily about what he had said. He was right, she lived her life by a strict moral code and barely allowed herself time to feel or enjoy her life. She was not allowed to love or dream and now on the brink of death, it was evident to her.

"How did you lose it? What spirit user saved you?" I asked him. If there was a stray spirit user in L.A., we needed to know about it.

Lee snorted, "You mean robbed me. I don't know, it all happened so fast. But as soon as I find him- ahh" before Lee could finish his sentence, Sydney the crafty devil had managed to free herself from my silk tie and smack Lee over the head with a nearby Amberwood yearbook. Lee stumbled and dropped the knife. Sydney raced over to me to help me to my feet, and we turned to run to the door.

But Lee was fast, before I knew it he had grabbed Sydney by her injured arm and pulled her from me. My hands were still bound but i swung them as hard as possible to try connect them with Lee's face. My attack did nothing to distract him but Sage turned around with a closed fist and ran it straight into Lee's face.

"Ow" she cried, shaking her fist in pain as Lee stumbled back across the room. It was now our chance to escape.

I nudged Sydney towards the door, "Come on Sage, this is it". We raced towards the door but before we could reach for the handle, it opened and two Strigoi entered the room.

 **AN- TWO IN ONE DAY! I WONT GET A CHANCE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS SO PLEASE ENJOY THE DOUBLE UPDATE TODAY :)**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

The last time I stared into the eyes of a Strigoi, they were Dimitri's. Knowing who the Strigoi was before they were awakened did not make them any less terrifying. Dimitri's skin was chalky white and his red ringed eyes stared straight through me. His considerable height had towered above us but yet Rose and Eddie had rushed in to protect Lissa and I from him immediately. I wish I could say that I was about to rush in to protect Sydney but instead I stood frozen in fear. My feet were glued to the ground and I could not take my eyes off the monsters standing in front of me.

One of them looked us over, her blonde hair was cut short and her features were those belonging to either a human or Dhampir before being turned. "Charming" she said whilst almost licking her lips.

"There so pretty" the other one crooned, her height indicated that she had been a Moroi before being awakened. The two bickered back and forth between them, arguing about who was going to get to taste us first. Sydney and I were just starting to slowly back away from the door when Lee recovered from Sydney's hit.

"Please" he pleaded. "You promised. Save me. Restore me to how I was". Even though he may have just led Sydney and I to our deaths, I could not help but feel a little sorry for Lee. His overwhelming desire to be reawakened was desperate and sad. His face was red and beginning to bruise and I could not be more proud of Sydney.

"I know where there are more. One's young, he's a Dhampir" Lee bargained. He was so trusting in these monsters and it was awful to watch.

"I haven't had a Dhampir in a while" the curly haired Strigoi almost whispered, her eyes glazing over.

The short haired one, who I assumed was Dawn, sighed heavily. "I don't really care Jacqueline. If you want to awaken him, go for it. I just want these two. He doesn't matter to me". She was looking at the two of us now as if we were her next meal. I could feel Sydney stiffen beside me and I would give anything to comfort her right now.

"I get the Dhampir all to myself, then" Jacqueline warned.

"Fine, fine, just hurry up" Dawn spat at her. She was getting temperamental and the clock was ticking on our upcoming doom. Jacqueline made her way over to a thankful Lee and threw him onto the reclining leather chair. She had moved so quick that Lee did not have a moment to even prepare himself. She sunk her teeth into his neck and began drinking the life out of him.

Dawn shut the door behind her and nudged the two of us closer to the murder scene. "Well, let's get a better view" she said with an amused tone. Sydney and I moved further into the room and I could sense Sage look to me in dispair. I did not dare return her glance and I hoped my face did not betray me. I did not want to convey that I had any sort of plan to save us from this situation and I would hate to have given her false hope.

Jacqueline was taking her fill of Lee, who face had slipped into a a blissful smile. The bite's endorphin's were making their way through his vein's and Lee was no longer aware that anyone else was even still in the room with him. I knew this had to be destroying Sydney, seeing Lee's life been drained away from him.

"His blood is not as good as I expected" Jacqueline said, having paused to take a break.

"Then stop" Dawn said, clearly tiring of Lee's demise, "Just let him die and have these two with me". She looked over as if to remind us that we were still very much going to die.

Jacqueline seemed tempted but shrugged "I'm almost done. And I really want him to get me that Dhampir" she whinged and returned to drink from Lee. He was close to death, his already pale Moroi skin was quickly losing it's life. Moment's later it was evident that Lee was no longer concious and the realisation that he was dead was now sinking in to the two of us.

Jacqueline looked around the room and located the knife that Lee had dropped earlier, smiling to herself, "Ah this will be much neater". She took the knife to her wrist and sliced it open, exposing her deep red blood. The final step to awakening was to feed the recently deceased with fresh, flowing blood from the Strigoi who took the life. Jacqueline placed her bleeding wrist to Lee's frozen face and let the blood drip slowly into his mouth.

Fear was basically eminating from Sydney and without thinking I reached for her hand. She jumped at first but when she realised it was only me, she allowed me to close my hand arround hers and comfort her. Even in the face of death, her hand warmed mine and I think she comforted me just as much as I her.

Jacqueline continued to feed the blood into Lee's mouth and was becoming increasinlgy frustrated that he had not reanimated yet. She looked up to Dawn who shouted about it taking so long. They began bickering amongst themselves about why it was not working and I could see the truth dawning on Sydney.

She fought against her better judgement and spoke up. "He was restored, and it affected him permanently. The spirit magic left some kind of mark and now he can't be turned again". Both the Strigoi turned to face Sydney and she cringed under their gaze.

"I never believed any of those spirit stories" Dawn said, shaking her head in defiance at Sage.

"There was something wrong with him, though. I can't explain it... but the whole time, he didn't feel right. Didn't taste right" Jacqueline mused, her gaze not leaving Lee's lifeless body.

"Forget him, he had his chance. He got what he wanted and now I'm moving on" Dawn said as she launched at Sydney. She moved too quickly for Sydney to protect herself but I selflessly threw myself in harms way and paid a heavy cost. Dawn had thrown me half way across the room and I stumbled to the floor in a heap. Before I could get to my feet to launch a second defensive attack, Dawn had grabbed Sydney by the neck and held her up to the wall.

Vampires in horror film's always seem to have a smarting comment to make before attacking their victim's, giving time for one final attempt at escape but Sydney was not so lucky. Dawn was quick and sunk her teeth deep into Sage's neck, not even pausing to be gentle. My heart was breaking into a thousand pieces when I saw Sydney's face glaze over in bliss and wonder. I almost turned away, to keep myself from witnessing my worst nightmare when Dawn all of a sudden ripped Sydney away from her and threw her to the floor.

Dawn spat Sydney's blood from her mouth and screwed her face up in disgust. "What was that?" she demanded.

"What's wrong?" Jacqueline asked. She was desperately seeking answers, her eyes darting between Sydney and Dawn.

Dawn spat more of Sydney's blood to the floor and wiped the rest from her face. "Her blood... it's terrible. Inedible. Foul".

Jacqueline's eyes widened. "Just like the other one. See? I told you" she exclaimed, sounding glad that she was not going crazy.

"No" Dawn said, shaking her head. "There's no way it could be the same. You would never have been able to drink that much of her. It didn't taste weird or bad... it was like it was tainted". Jacqueline looked over at Sydney skeptically and Dawn responded by pushing her around. ""Don't believe me? Try her yourself".

Jacqueline stepped towards Sydney hesitantly but decided against it. "I don't want another mediocre meal. Damn it, this is becoming absurd. At least we've still got him" gesturing to me, unfortunately.

"If he's not ruined too" muttered Dawn. I couldn't explain why Sydney's blood tasted the way it did but I hoped to god mine tasted just as foul.

Jacqueline moved acrossed the room at the speed of light and lifted me from the floor. She pinned me against the wall and bit down on my neck harshly. She had only be drinking a moment when she broke away from me, "this ones good, very good. Makes up for the other one". She ran her finger down my cheek and muttered it was such a shame, me being so good looking and all. The bite she had made on my neck offered light endorphins and my head was starting to spin. I had drunk a lot of different liquor and ingested a lot of legal and illegal drugs in my time but never before had I felt a high like this before. My eyes were beginning to roll back in my head and the two Strigoi took it in turn to drink from my veins.

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Sydney rifeling through her handbag. If she had a gun hidden in there, she really should have pulled it out earlier. She had found what she was looking for and shouted something that I was unable to decipher. In an instant, Dawn was lit up with fire and screaming in fear. The two dropped me to the floor and Jacqueline grabbed a blanket to smother the flames. They were both searching for the source of the fire and Dawn took off across the room to grab Sydney. She lifted Sage off the floor and slammed her beautiful head into the wall. Sydney fell to the floor, dazed and injured. Before Dawn could go back in for seconds, the door to the apartment swung open, revealing Eddie and a silver stake.

He raced into the centre of the room and immediately engaged both the Strigoi in battle. I was unable to concentrate on the fight, the endorphins from the bites still rushing through my body. I noticed Sydney crawling across the room and attempting to try pull me away from the fight. Her soft hands were a welcome comfort and I looked up to stare into her beautiful eyes. The Strigoi bite or not, her eye's were one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.

Her face was full of worry. "I'm fine, Sage" I muttered. "Quite the high, though. Makes the stuff I've used seem pretty soft-core" I said with a laugh. I was slowly starting to come down and focus on Sydney, noticing her injuries. Her arm was uncontrollably bleeding now and the back of her head had been brutally hit. "Good god, are you okay?" I asked, knowing she would be close to suffering a concussion.

"I will be" she said softly. But she was starting to sway whilst she spoke. I tried my hardest to support her but with my hands still cuffed, it was a poor attempt. We rested upon each other, both as useless as the other.

"Jill" I heard her whisper and I looked up suddenly. Of course she was here. Eddie would only have known we were in trouble through Jill's bond, so she obviously did not listen when he told her to stay in the car.

"No, no Jailbait" I was able mutter softly, "Do not do anything stupid. Castille needs to handle this".

"She knows how to fight" Sydney said, apparently oblivious to the fact that Jill was just a fifteen year old girl.

I frowned at her, "but she doesn't have a weapon. Without one, she is just a feather weight in this" I said but I should have just kept my mouth shut. Sydney looked around and attempted to get to her feet. I tried my hardest to stop her but she brushed me aside and stumbled into the kitchen. She clung to the counter and pulled herself up straight. She managed to flip on the faucet and call to Jill before falling back to the floor.

Jill summoned the water from the sink to her and forced it into a long cylinder shape. She shot it towards Jacqueline's back, knocking the Strigoi off her game. She turned around in shock and attempted to make a move to attack Jill but Eddie's training had been a success because Jill pre-empted the move and ducked quickly. With her back turned, Eddie had his moment and struck his silver stake into Jacqueline with force. She went rigid instantly and fell to the ground. Dawn, not even pausing to mourn her friend, struck out to hit Eddie, who stumbled when she connected with him. He regained his footing and continued the fight.

Jill was now long forgotten and she raced over to us. "Are you okay?" she exclaimed, her face full of fear. "Oh my god, I was so worried about you both. The emotions were so strong. I couldn't get a fix on what was happening, just that something was horribly wrong".

Sydney was distracted and was looking over to Eddie battling Dawn. "We have to help him..." she said before falling again. Jill and I grabbed her before she could do any further damage to herself.

"Jesus Sage, your in bad shape" I said, just noticing how dire her state was.

"Not as bad as you" she protested. "They drank more from you..". Even when she was on the brink of death, she was playing the martyr.

"Yeah but I don't have a bleeding arm wound, or a possible concussion" I pointed out. I could not handle her pain any longer, I needed to heal her. I reached out with my hands and touched her gentley. "Here, I can take care of this". I started to release the spirit through her, freeing her from this hell.

She sat wistfully staring into space when it dawned on her that I was using spirit on her.

"No" she cried as she pulled away from me. "Don't touch me, don't touch me with your magic". She was boardering on hysterical, I needed to calm and heal her immediately, beforeshe drew attention from Dawn.

"Sage, you will feel better, believe me" I said softly, reaching for her again. I yearned to heal her, I needed her to be safe again.

She backed away from me in fear, clinging to the counter top for balance. "No, no, no. No magic. Not on me, the tattoo will heal me. I'm strong" she argued.

"Sage" I said, trying again to reach for her.

"Adrian, stop it" Jill said, stopping me in my tracks. She walked tentatively towards Sage. "It's okay Sydney, He won't heal you. I promise" her voice was calming and soft.

"No magic" Sydney whispered, her beautiful eyes pleading with me.

I turned, growing aggitated with them both. "For god's sake, this supersititious bullshit". My anger was out of control. I was one of only a handful of Moroi with the ability to heal and then one person that needed me, refused my help.

"No magic" Jill said firmly, removing her over shirt to tie around the wound of Sydney's arm. She had just about covered it completely when we heard an earsplitting scream behind us. Dawn had gotten quite a few good hits on Eddie and his faced telled the tale but he was able to make a swift move and pierce Dawn's heart. Her body went stiff and fell to the ground.

We looked around us, the Strigoi bodies were scattered on the floor. The Alchemist in Sage took over and she tried to walk to her purse. "The bodies, we have to destroy them. There is a vial in my purse".

I restrained her in my arms and relished holding her close. "Whoa, whoa, stay where your at. Castille can get it. The only place your going is to a doctor" I said harshly.

She had resigned to the fact that I would not let her leave my arms, "No! No doctors. At least, you have to... you have to get an alchemist one. My purse has the numbers". I will give Sydney this, she is determined.

"Go get her purse, before she has a fit" I barked at Jill. "I'll bind the arm, without magic. Which, by the way, could make this ten times easier" I said softly to her.

"I'll heal on my own" she countered. She was a mess, bloodied and bruised. He hair was a tangled and her face had aged five years but in this moment she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Her kind, beautiful eyes looked up at me and we shared a moment of relief knowing how close we had both come to death here tonight. We had shared this horrific experience and had survived together.

"You realise, you're going to have to get over your dieting fixation and consume some major calories to fight this blood loss. Sugar and fluids, just like Clarence. Good thing someone bagged up all this candy on the counter". I had noticed the junk on the counter when I walked in but due to Sydney being held at knife point, it was placed quickly in the back of my mind.

I was still attempting to bandage Sydney's arm. I'm not sure if the fumbling was due to my nervousness because of my close proximity with Sage or my cuffed hands but it was not working for me. "Damn it. Eddie go search Lee's body and see if there's a key for these god damned cuffs" I shouted but as soon as the words left my mouth I recoiled. Jill had not noticed Lee's lifeless body crumpled on the leather chair when she had run in earlier.

All the blood ran out from Jill's face and she went deathly pale. She shot across the room, grabbing Lee's hands, begging for him to wake up. Eddie rushed to Jill's side, comforting her instantly. The room fell silent and I looked to Sydney, her beautiful face was now streaked with tears. I don't know if it was seeing Jill in pain or if all of tonight's events were catching up with her but she sunk to the floor in exhaustion. I sat on the ground beside her, wanting so much to take her in my arms and tell her it would be okay, that we were fine now but I knew better.

We sat in silence, both of us not wanting to watch Jill's heartache. Sydney sniffled softly beside me and we waited for the Alchemist doctor to arrive. I scooted closer to Sydney, needing to feel her beside me, safe. I had come so close to loosing my life tonight, so close to having it all be over. But as I sat here, contemplating what that meant, the only emotion I felt was relief. I was just about to reach to my pocket for a long overdue cigarette, when Sydney laid her head upon my shoulder and sighed heavily. I dropped my hand instantly and closed my eyes, no longer needing the vice that had once controlled me.

 **AN- DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA! I HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THIS ONE. ONLY ONE CHAPTER TO GO! I THINK I MAY HAVE TAKEN SOME LIBERTIES IN THIS CHAPTER BUT FOR ME, I THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE TIME WHEN ADRIAN REALISED HOW MUCH HE CARED FOR SYDNEY, WHEN HE WAS CLOSE TO LOSING HER. ANYWAY, PLEASE ENJOY AND REVIEW**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

The next few days passed by in a blur. An army of Alchemist's descended upon Palm Springs, interogating Sydney and I relentlessly. Their main line of questioning seemed to be centered around Lee not being able to be reawakened. It was obvious that being around me made them uncomfortable but they maintained a professional and strict demenor. These guys made Sydney look like a slacker by comparison. There were particularly interested in the fire damage in Lee's apartment, which was something I actually did not have an explanation for. Sydney was somehow responsible for it but that was not something I felt I should be blabbing about to the Alchemist's, not without speaking to her first.

I had just finished my classes for the day and was making my way to the bus when my phone lit up. "Your majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure?". Lissa was calling and I could only assume it was to chastise me for my behaviour at some point.

"Adrian! How are you? I am sorry it has taken me so long to get in contact. How are you doing after the, uh, incident the other night?". It was hard to believe that the soft voice coming down the phone at me was now the queen of our entire society.

"Incident? Oh you mean when I was forcibly fed on and two Strigoi had my life in their hands. Yeah, I am doing okay. Sydney copped the brunt of the fight. Have you spoken to Jill yet? She was not doing so well and I'm sure she would appreciate the call". Jill would kill me for mentioning this but she was stuggling to cope with Lee's death. She knew now of Lee's plans for her awakening but it did not ease the pain she was feeling.

"I have been meaning to call, I just wouldn't know what to say. We were not close when she was here, I just don't know if I could offer her anything. But that's not why I'm calling. We need your help". Lissa did not mince her words and this was not a social call despite her earlier well wishes.

"Liss, I am still kind of in the middle of the last favour you asked of me" but I knew that I would be powerless to her requests. She is not only my Queen but my friend, so when she says jump, I jump.

"We have organised Sonya and a small team to fly to Palm Springs to do some research on spirit and it's effects on Strigoi. I am wondering if you could make yourself available to her for some of the experiments. I understand your in classes and she will organise around your timetable. We just really need another spirit user but it just isn't a safe time for me to be leaving Court". Lissa's voice was hopeful and cheery but I could sense the undertone.

"My time is your time Liss, so just name the day's and I will be there" I responded dejectedly. I liked Sonya but the idea of spending my time studying spirit's effect sounded utterly terrible.

"We are willing to sweeten the pot for you. Sydney has been able to pull some strings with the Alchemist's and as a thank-you for helping out they are offering to provide you with an apartment downtown. It is the apartment of the ex-Alchemist, so I understand that it may dredge up some bad memories for you but it is rent free". Lissa knew the magic words, rent free.

"When do I move in?" I asked with a laugh. Lissa said she would email through the remaining details of the plans and that I was free to start the move tomorrow morning. She hung up the call but not before I made her promise to call Jill.

So tomorrow is moving day and I now have Sydney Sage to thank once again. I don't know how she had convinced the Alchemist's to allow me to take over Keith's lease but she had come through for me. There are no words to express my gratitude for Sage and I again felt completely indebbted to her. She was the reason I was survived that attack, she had gotten me into my classes and now she had gone out of her way to get me out of Clarence's. Whatever misguided idea I had that she did not care for me or thought of me as a monster now seemed rediculous.

Clarence was visably upset when he learned I would be moving out. He had made me promise to come and visit weekly, which I would be doing for feedings anyway so it would be an easy promise to keep. When being bundled off to Palm Springs, I had been forced to pack light and now I was reaping the rewards of that. I still had two heavy suitcases but they were easy enough to manage on the bus trip to my new digs. The Alchemist clean up team had just finished up and had removed most of Keith's belongings from the apartment. They handed over the keys and made themselves scarse.

I looked around to see that they had left behind most of the major furniture, which was great for my wallet but also left behind haunting memories of Lee's death. The colour was also going to need to change, I needed to cleanse this apartment of the horror it had witnessed. I set off with the little amount of money I had to my name and took a quick stroll down to the used furniture store I had seen when on the bus. I had never set foot in a used anything store before but there was always time for firsts. I was in the store for less than a minute when I spotted the most hideous, over stuffed plaid couch. It was rediculous but I loved it. It was a great price and in fantastic condition. I took the time to haggle with the shop owner but managed to trade in the recliner and living room furniture for the plaid couch, coffee table and a dinning set. They were to be delivered tomorrow and I would be free of Lee's death chair.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering through homewares shops, purchasing things that I had never even thought of before. My final stop on the way home was the hardware shop. The next step to changing the living room space would be a drastic colour change. I needed a calm and cheerful colour that would mask the dark episode that occured there. I knew what colour I wanted, I just was lying to myself for the reasoning of it. Armed with paint and all the supplies I would need, I had a heavy night of redecorating ahead of me.

Two days later the house was freshly painted, the furniture delivered and I had cleaned the place top to bottom. Sonya and her crack team would be arriving this afternoon, so Sydney was dropping by to meet with them. The apartment's walls were now a glowing yellow, the colour that soothed my moods. After the attack that night, yellow had been plastered in my mind. When I saw Dawn pin Sydney against that wall and sink her fangs in Sage's tender neck, I envisioned that shinning yellow being diminished and it rocked me to my core. I had been wrestling with those images in my mind for days and I could not figure out why I had been so rattled. I was sitting, staring into space, when there was a soft knock at the front door. Racing to my feet, I opened to see a smiling Sydney standing in front of me.

"Whoa" she said as she walked past me into the room. "Yellow huh?" she asked whilst staring wistfully at the walls.

"It's called goldenrod and it's meant to be cheerful and charming" I said with a smile.

"How did you afford the new furniture?" she asked me with a suspicious look on her face.

"I sold the old stuff. That recliner, well it was worth a lot. It was appalling overpriced, even by my standards. But I got enough for it to replace the rest. It's used but what choice did I have?". I was watching her walk around the room, taking in all my new interior decorating.

"It's nice" she said, "You must have done some saavy shopping. I'm guessing you don't buy a lot of used stuff".

"Try never, you have no idea the things I've had to lower myself to " I said with a laugh. I watched her for a bit longer, her aura betrayed her emotions. She was still dealing with what we had gone through the other night. She had undergone the same questioning I had but I doubted she had actually expressed any emotion regarding it. "How are you holding up?" I asked cautiously.

"Fine" she shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be? What happened to me isn't as bad as what Jill went through" she said sadly. I had once accused Sydney of being selfish but here, in this moment, I realised how wrong I had been. She lived her life for everyone else, never taking a moment to care for herself.

"I don't know. Jill didn't watch a guy die in front of her. And let's not forget that same guy wanted to kill you only moments before, in order to rise again from the dead". I stood with my arms folded across my body, studying her aura to get a sense of her reactions.

"I'm actually better with it than you guys might think" she said thoughtfully. She looked off to the otherside of room, gazing at nothing in particular, "like, it's terrible about Lee and what he did, but I feel I can get over it in time". Her gaze found its way to me and she met my eyes, "Do you know what I keep thinking about most, though?" she asked, her eyes wide with worry.

"What?" I asked, dying to know what was floating around her mind.

"Lee telling me I was wasting my life and staying aloof from people. And then, during that last meeting with Keith, he told me I was naive, that I don't understand the world. And it's true to a certain extent. I mean, not what he said, about you guys being evil... but, well, I was naive. I should've been more careful with Jill. I believed the best of Lee when I should of been more wary. I'm not a fighter like Eddie, but I'm am an observer of the world... or so I like to think. But I failed. I'm not good with people" she admitted softly. Seeing her so valunerable right now was so endearing. Knowing that she trusted me enough to show her weaknesses, sent warmth through my heart that I could not explain.

"Sage, your first mistake was listening to anything Keith Darnell says. The guy's an idiot, an asshole and a dozen other words that aren't suitable for a lady like yourself" I said with respect.

"See, you just admitted it. That I'm some kind of untouchable, pure soul" she quipped.

"I never said any such thing" I counter. "My point is that your leagues above Keith, and what happened with Lee was dumb, rediculous bad luck. And remember, none of us saw it coming. You weren't alone. It cast's no reflection on you" but then I stopped myself, my mind racing. "Or maybe it does. Didn't you say Lee considered killing Keith for Alchemist blood?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but Keith left too soon" she admitted.

"Well, there you go. Even a physcopath recognised your worth enough to want to kill someone else first". I had hoped this would ease her mind but her exasperated sigh proved it hadn't.

"That doesn't make me feel any better" she said, as if she was finally allowing her emotions to sink in.

"My earlier point remains" I said with a shrug. "Your a solid person Sage. Your easy on the eyes, if a little skinny, and your ability to memorize useless information is going to totally hook in some guy. Put Keith and Lee out of your head because they have nothing to do with your future". I had undersold her on the compliments but I had to watch my words.

"Skinny?" she asked, her face flushed red with blush. She was taking my words on board and the compliments had caught her off guard.

"I just tell it like it is" I said with a laugh and she joined me.

"Yes, yes you do" she muttered whilst flashing me a genuine smile. "Now tell me about a different subject please, I am tired of this one".

"Sure thing, do you smell that?" I asked her mischeviously.

She looked around the room and sniffed cautiously. Recognition took over face, "I smell the paint, and.. wait... it that pine?". She really missed nothing.

"Damn straight, pine scented cleaner. As in, I cleaned" I exclaimed. I gestured towards the kitchen, "With these hands, these hands that don't do manual labour". I stood full of pride, feeling so accomplished.

"You used pine cleaner on the floor and cupboards?" she asked, her face crumpled up, supressing a laugh.

"Yeah, so?" I said, expecting her to tell me what I had messed up this time.

"Well, it looks great. I need you to come over and clean my new dorm room. It's covered in dust" she joked. The idea of being in Sydney Sage's dorm room sounded very interesting but the idea of more manual labor? Not so much.

"No way Sage. My own house cleaning's bad enough".

She laughed and then looked over to me. "But is it worth it? If you'd stayed at Clarence's, you had a live in cook and cleaner" she argued.

"It's definately worth it. I've never truely had my own place. I kind of did at Court... but it might as well have been an over glorified dorm room. This? This is great, even with the house cleaning". I walked to her, "Thank-you" I said earnestly. The words seemed empty and in no way enough but they needed to be said.

Her discomfort is aparent, she obviously is not used to people recognising when she helped. "For what?" she asked, her voice waivering.

"For this" I said, whilst gesturing around the house. "I know you must have twisted some serious Alchemist arms. And for everything else. For not giving up on me, even when I was a major asshole. And, you know, for saving my life". She looked away, not being able to cope with all the praise.

"I didn't do anything" she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "That was Eddie and Jill. There the ones who saved you". She refused to make eye contact with me.

"Not sure I would've been alive for their rescue if you hadn't set that bitch on fire. How did you do?" I asked. It was the moment of truth, I could see by her aura that she was planning to lie to me but I trusted that she had her reasons.

"It was nothing" she protested. "Just a, uh, chemical reaction from the Alchemist bag of tricks". She finally looked up at me and my eyes searched hers. She had her reasons for keeping her secrets and they pained her.

"Well, from the look on her face, your aim was right on. And then you got back handed for it. Anyone who takes a hit for Adrian Ivashkov deserves some credit". I joked with her but my mind went back to the moment when Dawn threw Sydney across the room. The idea of her possibly dying for me, ripped my soul out.

She turned her back to me and walked to the window. "Yeah, well, you can rest easy that is was a selfish act. You have no idea what a pain it is to file the paperwork for a dead Moroi" she said, trying her hardest to keep a straight face.

I laughed harder than I had in a very long time, and it felt amazing. "Okay Sage, if you say so. You know, your a lot spunkier than when I first met you" I told her.

"Really? All the adjectives in the world at your disposal and you pick spunky?" she asked. There were a thousand other words I would have loved to use to describe her, but they would have changed the course of this conversation very quickly. "Just so you know, your a little more stable than when I first met you" she said with a laugh.

I walked over to join her in the window. She may have been joking but she has no idea how spot on she was. I finally felt like I was coming together. The darkness and confusion I usually felt was no where near as heavy as it used to be. "Well, don't tell anyone, but I think getting away from Court was a good thing. This weather sucks, but Palm Springs might be good for me- it and all the wonders it contains. You guys. Art Classes. Pine cleaner".

Sage grinned and moved her eyes to stare into mine. She had floored me, one look from those beautiful eyes and the realisation that I had been stuggeling with all week hit me like a tonne of bricks. She had intrigued me from the moment I met her, those eyes haunting my dreams. It had not been until she almost died in front of me that I figured out those feelings. I was in love with this girl. And not the same type of love it was with Rose. These feelings made that seem like a school girl crush. When Dawn sunk her fangs into Sydney, I realised I could not imagine my life without her and her beautful eyes, in it.

I had been staring into her eyes for quite sometime without even so much as uttering a word. "My god, Sage, your eyes. How have I never noticed them before?" I asked, clearly lying. I noticed them the moment I met her but she did not need to know that just yet.

"What about them?" she asked softly, my gaze making her uncomfortable.

"The colour, when you stand in the light. They're amazing... like molten gold. I could paint these..." I breathed. I longed to touch her beautiful face, I even raised my hand to do so but fought against my better judgement. "They're beautiful, your beautiful" I whispered to her softly.

We both stood there, frozen in time. She seemed unable to tear her gaze away from me, her eyes searching my soul. I was breathless, her beauty left me without words. I desired her more than I had ever with anyone before. She believed in me when no one did, and she risked her life for me. She was the one truely selfless person I had ever met and it just added to her beauty. I stepped forward, longing to touch her. A loud knock at the door broke our trance, causing us both to jump.

I took a step back and tried to shake off my feelings. I placed a fake grin on my face, "Showtime huh?" I said, unable to find any words. She stood in the window's light, clearly struggling to shake off whatever it was that had entranced us both. She was visably shaken and her face confused.

I walked to the door and flung it opened quickly. Abe stood front and centre in anoher one of his rediculous suits. He entered my apartment without being invited and he had a huge grin plastered across face.

"Adrian, Sydney... so lovely to see you both again. I believe one of you already knows this young lady?". A young Dhampir girl followed him into the room. She had soft auburn hair and was quite curvacious for a teenager. She reminded me of a younger version of Rose.

"Hello Angeline" Sydney said, quickly returning to her professional Alchemist voice. Our ealier moment was now forgotten, thanks to good ole Abe.

I had been told about Angeline, she was a member of a hidden sect of our society called the Keepers. They lived by old world standards, in a forrest. Humans, Moroi and Dhampirs alike lived in one community and inter mingled sexually as well. It was deeply frowned down upon by our people, so I was suprised that Abe would think to bring on someone like that.

"Angeline, this is Adrian Ivashkov" Abe introduced. I leant forward to shake the young girls hand, "A pleasure" I said.

Angeline may not be an adult but the thoughts going through her mind as she shook my head almost made me blush. "Nice to meet you" she softly, in an odd southern accent. "Your too pretty to be useful" she after studying me further.

"A truer word has never been spoken" I said with a laugh. Sydney immediately shook her head, knowing she was in for a battle with the young Keeper.

Abe and Sydney went on to discuss what Angeline's duties would be and when they would be debriefing her. Sydney questioned where Sonya and her team were and Abe mentioned that they were just finding some off street parking.

"Hey, do I inherit Keith's car as well?" I asked, the thought just entering my mind.

"Afraid not, it belonged to his dad. He took it back" Sydney said and I could feel my face fall in disapointment.

"Ah yes, the late, great Mr Darnell" Abe mused. That boy's really beset with tragedy, isn't he? Such a hard life". He turned to look at me, "But you, at least, seem to have benefit from his dowfall?".

Everything started to fall into place for me, the reason why Abe wanted me to stay with Clarence. He had suspected that the elder Moroi was selling his blood and I was a plant to report any wrong doings back. I probably would have been able to crack the case sooner, if he had told me what to be on the look out for.

Sydney was questioning why Abe was so concerned with Clarence selling his blood when it hit me. "Maybe because he doesn't want the competition" I blurted out without thinking.

Sydney's jaw nearly hit the floor as she looked back and forth between Abe and myself.

"Now, now. No need to bring up unpleasant topics" Abe said, without even breaking a sweat.

Sydney seemed like she was going to explode. "Unpleasant?" she exclaimed. "If you're involved in anything that-" but she was cut off before she could finish her train of thought.

"Enough, please" Abe demanded, holding his hand up to Sydney. "Becuase if that sentence ends with you saying you'll talk to the Alchemist's, then by all means, let's get them out here and discuss all sorts of mysteries. Say, for example, like how Mr Darnell lost his eye".

The air was instantly filled with tension and I saw Sydney freeze in shock beside me. "Strigoi took it" I said quickly, growing impatient of the old mans words.

""Oh come now" Abe said, enjoying the moment. "My faith in you had just been restored. Since when do Strigoi do such precision maiming? Very artful maiming. Not that anybody probably noticed. Wasted talent, I tell you" he said with a chuckle.

The world was spinning around me. "What are you saying? Are you saying someone cut his eye out on purpose? Are you saying that you-" and I cut myself off. I glanced at Sydney, who had grown so quiet that she could have just disapeared into thin air. Abe stood with a bemused look upon his face and the weight of the world fell on me.

"That's it, isn't it? Your devil's bargain? But why?" I asked her, utterly shocked she was so caught up in such wrong doings. I looked into her eyes and only saw fear. She must have had her reasons and whatever her motive, it would not have been without just cause. She was silent for too long but she was not going to lie to me, her aura gave her away.

"Remember when you asked me to trust you?" she asked me and swallowed heavily.

"Yes" I said, my eyes not leaving hers.

"I need you to do the same for me" she pleaded with me.

"Spunky is kind of an understatement" I said, dying to know her reasons. She had believed in me when no one else did and for that, I trusted her whole heartedly. "Okay, I do trust you Sage. I trust that you have good reasons for the things you do" I said, nodding with a smile.

She looked at me in relief, "Thank-you" she said softly.

Angeline enquired about what we were discussing and Abe shushed her with the mention of unpaid debts.

"Unpaid?" Sydney almost shouted. "I've paid your debt a hundred times over. I don't owe you anything anymore. My loyalty is only to the Alchemist's now. Not you. We're finished" she said with such fury that it scared me a little.

Abe was lucky there was a knock at the door, so he rushed away a little shaken up by Sydney's abrupt act of defiance.

"Not bad Sage" as I took a few steps towards her. "I think you just scared old man Mazur".

"I don't know about that, but it felt kind of good" she said, a huge smile taking over her beautiful face.

"You should backtalk people more often" I said, return her grin. When she stood up to Abe, her yellow aura had flashes of beautiful purple and it was resplendant. She was firery and passionate and I would have given anything to touch her glorious face. Instead I settled for us sharing a a familar smile.

"It's Sonya" I said, feeling her spirit through the closed door. Abe opened it and she came rushing into the room, enveloping me in a hug. Her gorgeous red hair was piled high on her head and she looked positively glowing. She had made her way over to Sydney when I looked up to see who had joined her on the trip.

I should not have been suprised. I should have even guessed. I had recently taken so many steps forward in my life but standing in front of me now, in my apartment doorway none the less, was someone who was about to send me spiraling back down the rabbit hole. Sonya was a restored Strigoi so her blood and aura was perfect to assess, and what is better than one restored Strigoi. Two.

In front of me stood Dimitri Belikov, Rose's soul mate. Sydney looked to me, her face filled with concern. I walked to my kitchen, not knowing how to respond to what had just walked into my living room. I opened the freezer and removed a bottle of vodka. I nearly dropped the bottle in disgust when I realised it was Russian vodka but beggars cannot be choosy. I poured myself a shot and then downed it. I looked up to see Sydney's face fall in disapointment. I had reacted exactly how everyone had expected me to, and I hated that Dimitri had that sort of power over me. I hated who he made me. This was going to be a very long couple of weeks.

 **AN- AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! ALL DONE! I HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYED READING IT AS MUCH AS I LOVED WRITING IT. I AM GOING TO HAVE A COUPLE OF DAYS OFF AND THEN START IN ON THE GOLDEN LILLY, MY FAVOURITE OF ALL THE BOOKS. I HOPE EVERYONE WILL READ THAT ONE TOO! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL THE COMMENTS =)**


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